The Watcher Chronicles: Alpha - Book One - Watch Her Go!
by RomanTinkerBell1709
Summary: She'd crossed the town line a few weeks ago. A seemingly ordinary girl. No-one had seemed to pick up on the fact that she wasn't actually from this town. She wasn't even from this country. In fact, she wasn't actually from this particular dimension of Earth. I Do Not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters aside from My OC (Watcher). M because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello peoples!**

**Finally, something new and improved!**

**If you are readers of my other stories, it is lovely to see you again. If you are new to my stories, Welcome!**

**I have finished this story completely which means there will be no slowing down!**  
** I am in the middle of writing up the rest of the series, of course, so don't expect chapters to be posted everyday.**

**I must verify for you;**

**This Is Not A Crossover Story! Though it does have some references to other shows/movies/books etc. (Like Dr Who for example)**

**You will gain more understanding as you read.**

**Enjoy the first chapter and the disclaimer is in the summary.**

**R**

* * *

She'd crossed the town line a few weeks ago.  
A seemingly ordinary girl in very ordinary teenage clothing, even if she wasn't actually a teenager. She wasn't all that old though either.

The thing that got her attention the most was that no-one had seemed to pick up on the fact that she wasn't actually from this town.  
In fact, she wasn't even from this country.  
She could go further to say that she wasn't actually from this particular dimension of Earth...if she wanted to.

She had no money, no proper living establishment, no form of transport and knew no-one around.  
Well she **knew** **of them**, but she didn't** know** them.

She'd been hanging around outside of the main town, in an abandoned, broken down house, with only her sneakers, jeans and hoodie to keep her warm.

But eventually you need to stop breaking and entering to try and keep yourself fed.  
Eventually people are going to find out that there's a strange girl running around town, and it was better if they found out on your terms rather than their own.

So here she sat in Granny's Diner, in a booth all by her lonesome as close to the door as possible, reaching the inevitable conclusion that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't such a good idea.

She sat crossed legged on the seat with her back against the wall, blue grey eyes staring at her fingernails.  
Her mind making a side note to try and clean them good when she got back to her hovel and her short, mid brown curls hiding her features

She wasn't even aware anyone was watching her until a plate was placed in front of her and someone slid into the seat across from her.

She looked at the plate, which had a few sandwiches on it. She blinked a couple of times, refusing to look into the face of her **_'attacker'._**

A sweet, gentle, British voice flitted its way across the table to her ears.

"Granny doesn't really appreciate people who come just to sit"

The girl still didn't look up at this strange person who had taken an interest in her, but took a side glance at the greying woman behind the counter, who was eyeing her in return.  
She then directed her gaze back to the edible delights set in front of her.

She hadn't eaten for two days now and cursed her stomach as it complained loudly.

The stranger spoke up again.

"My names Belle, by the way"

the girl payed no mind to this **_'Belle'_**and proceeded to dissect one of the sandwiches on the plate.

Belle watched this odd person as they carefully took apart the food she had placed down earlier.  
She then looked over at Granny and Ruby who had taken to staring at the scene, unsure of how to process and move forward.

Without tearing her eyes from the plate the girl finally gave a simple, uncomplicated comment to the otherwise awkward situation.

"I'm allergic to tomatoes"

Belle blinked as she realised the communication lines were open, if only a little and she watched with wide eyes as the werewolf at the counter ducked into the kitchen to make something else.

The table went silent again as one continued to look down at the plate and the other turned to look at the one staring at the plate.

Heaving a sigh, all formality and niceties slid off the table as Belle sat back in her seat with her hands in her lap, looking deflated.

"It's courtesy to look at someone when they're talking to you and generally if that someone introduces themselves, you should introduce yourself"

The girl considered her words and looked up at the woman in front of her.

Light blue eyes stared across at her, slightly annoyed, but the small smile that spread across her face stated otherwise.  
And this strange girl found herself beginning to trust this **'****_Belle_****'** and unknowingly returned the smile as a dark brunette with red streaks in her hair set another plate of sandwiches down in front of her.  
"No tomatoes this time" she stated kindly with a smile.

She turned and pulled up a chair from a nearby table.

"I'm Ruby, so what's your name?"

The girl looked between the other two debating whether or not to give out that information, but she did anyway.

"I don't actually have a real name. People just usually call me The Watcher"

They stared at her, blinking and gaping.

"Well, that's an interesting title" Belle answered sharing a glance with Ruby.

It didn't matter to Watcher, who just scarfed down the contents of the plate in front of her.

The two girls gave a little laugh as they watched her.

"Slow down! You'll make yourself sick"

She looked up at the other two with wide eyes, resembling a squirrel sucking an acorn, resulting in the girls laughing harder.  
Watcher paused momentarily and sat up chewing slowly as she was told and proceeded as such.

"So how long have you been here? I know everyone in Storybrooke and I've never seen you before. Did you just come in town for a visit or have you been in hiding all this time?" Ruby asked.

Watcher hesitated again in debate.  
She remembered the truth behind this town, from what she had seen over these few weeks.  
Magic was everywhere here.

She also noted that they seemed to be nervous.

She answered them through a mouthful of sandwich.

"If I were to tell you, I don't think you'd believe me"

Belle moved forward again "You'd be surprised by the things we'd believed"

The bell over the door rung and Belle's face lit up like Christmas, whereas Ruby replaced the chair and hurriedly resumed her work.

Watcher, still leaning against the wall, watched as a tall, older man with a cane approached the table.

"Ah, there you are Belle. I was wondering where you'd got to"

He gave her a kiss on her forehead and then noticed someone was observing them.

"And, who's this? A new friend perhaps?"

His tone was different to Belle's, it was darker and raspy in comparison.

"This is Watcher. She was just about to tell me a bit about herself" She answered him lightly.

He gave a silent _'Ah'_ and nodded as he sat next to Belle.

Watcher looked on in slight fear at this new person, feeling the power almost radiate off of him.

Belle leaned across the table and gripped Watcher's hand.

"It's alright, you can trust him. I know he seems intimidating but he's really a softie"

The man feigned offence and then looked over to her.

"Don't tell her that, I can't have everyone knowing"

Watcher gave a short chuckle in her throat and grinned toothily.

Belle let out a laugh and Watcher saw the old woman at the counter smile to herself as she continued to watch them.

This man observed her hesitantly, a little disturbed by the sudden happiness that seemed to ooze out of this stranger.

"Please continue, I didn't mean to interrupt"

Watcher shrugged "You didn't interrupt much really" she paused "Ruby was, sort of right. I have been in hiding, but I've only been here for a couple of weeks"

She stopped again but continued quickly at the sight of their worrying faces

"I was sucked out of my room by some...portal I guess and I ended up a few meters away on the other side of that pink line you all call the Town Line. You know those B&amp;E's that have been happening around town? The ones where they took nothing but food?"

The man pointed to her disbelievingly "That was you?"

She nodded.

He sighed "Why are you telling all this to us?"

Watcher shrugged again "I feel like I trust you, I guess?"

He gave a short laugh and with a wave of his hand Watcher was frozen in place

"Sorry dearie, but I'm not one you should trust"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two! Enjoy! =)**

**R**

* * *

"Rumple, what are you doing?" Belle's disapproving tone was almost panicked.

**_'Rumple'_** simply looked at her as they appeared in front of a door in a puff of smoke.

"She's a thief" he answered diligently.

"She's homeless!" she half shouted back.

He simply scoffed and went to knock when the door was opened by a smaller woman with a kind round face and short cut black hair.

"Hi Belle. Rumplestiltskin. What can I do for you?"

Rumplestiltskin replaced his hand on his cane as he addressed this new face.

"Mary-Margaret, we were wondering if your daughter was with you at this present time?"

Mary-Margaret's brow dipped low in confusion "Uh, yeah. She's right here"

She opened the door further to allow them access to what appeared to be a Loft apartment.  
Rumplestiltskin gripped Watcher's arm fiercely as he unfroze her and dragged her through the door to be met with more faces.  
This time a man, a boy and a blonde woman.

"Miss Swan, I believe you were on the hunt for a thief"

He threw Watcher forward unceremoniously as the blonde moved forward

"Yeah, but only food was stolen, so it doesn't really fit into the category of a major crime"

He nodded at her sentence "I thought you might say that, which is why I brought her to the Saviour. She's not from Storybrooke"

Watcher shoved her hands in her pockets and smiled at Miss Swan, thoroughly enjoying the way this situation was all unravelling.

"I'm still kinda hungry, any chance of something to eat?"

The boy snorted with mirth, which turned into a _'vicious cough'_ as the blonde gave him a look.  
The man also sniggered but was silenced by Mary-Margaret who linked their arms after slapping said arm, an indication to shut up.

Swan started to circle Watcher "So, where you from?"

Watcher focused her gaze on the wall opposite "Australia, New South Wales, Sydney"

"That's a long way away"

"It's a long,**long** dimension away"

Swan stopped behind her when she heard this "Dimension? You're from another world?"

With pursed lips Watcher looked over her shoulder at the blonde "If I wasn't, I'd be wearing better than this"

She pulled at her hoodie showing the tears and ground in dirt that seemed to be accumulating a growth

"And I said **Dimension**"

This time the man spoke up "If you're from another dimension, how did you get here?"

Her gaze returned to the wall "A dimensional portal opened up in my room and sucked me in. I found myself a few meters away from the town line"

the boy decided to pipe in at that time "So you were sucked into a portal and deposited in Storybrooke-"

"Outside Storybrooke, the other side of the line"

"-Outside Storybrooke" he continued  
"You wandered into town and started breaking into houses and stealing food?"

Watcher looked to him lazily a small grin playing on her lips "Hey, a girls gotta eat"

He nodded at her "So, what's your name?"

"The Watcher, what's yours?"

He looked slightly taken back at her forwardness "Henry. What kinda name is Watcher?"

"One that's individual"

He grinned up at her, as she did him, and tossed her an apple which she bit into gleefully, saluting him in thanks.

Swan pulled back her attention.

"What're you doing here? Why didn't you go in the other direction? I didn't think anyone could see past the Town line from the other side"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just following the story" she shot back sarcastically, though it was actually a half truth.

There was a shuffling noise as Rumplestiltskin limped into her view, staring down at her.

She could see the gears turning in his brain...either that or the hamster was working over time.

"**The** Watcher? Or **A** Watcher?" he hesitated

"This is an honour. But what is one of you doing here? Last time I checked you lot didn't exactly make yourselves public"

Watcher smirked crooked, cocking an eyebrow at his perceptiveness, but remained quiet.

Mary-Margaret's timid voice spoke up from behind him "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Rumplestiltskin turned to face her. "A Watcher follows the story. They usually don't appear in other dimensions, preferring to stay in their own and watching the **_'stories'_** unfold from there. But they have the means to travel between them. They're very hard to track down, if they ever do drop in. They keep quiet, keep to themselves.  
They're sort of a cross between a Conscious and The Fates of Greek Mythology. Not much is really known about them. I only know from what I've read and that wasn't even much. They don't have any personal magic, so they're really just like everyone else. Which is why it's so difficult to find them"

Watcher's smirk widened "Actually, were more of a guide. We try to guide people on the path of how the story is meant to unfold. Acting as a **_'Conscious'_**, as you put it, to guide them into the decision that benefits the play out."

She stared at their dumbfounded faces.

"I don't understand" the man voiced.

"It is difficult to explain and understand" she told them, but she tried her hardest to explain it better.

"We have people who create the idea of a reality and bring it to life. We call them Creators...aptly named I know. Then there are Scriptors who create the stories and the Watchers, who observe the stories and make sure they play out as they're supposed to. You guys still have free will and all, so you can fall off the path of the story from time to time. That's where people like me come into it. But I got bored. I've been to so many places and seen so many lives and stories..."

She let her sentence hang for a second, wearing a saddened expression

"Eventually it gets to you. I purposely broke the rules"

Swan came around Rumplestiltskin allowing this information to slowly sink in

"Wait, wait, Creators, Scriptors, Watchers? Are you saying that you're some sort of God or something"

Watcher blinked. A sickening sensation settling in her stomach.

"No! We're anything but! Creators are what you would call Directors and Scriptors are basically Script Writers here. That's the easiest I can explain it"

Henry spoke up again "So, basically, you're like Hollywood"

"I guess so, but it's more of a dimension of Hollywood and we have more reason and power behind what we do"

The room just stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm not here to take anyone or hurt anyone, so you have nothing to worry about"

She turned to the man standing next to Mary-Margaret and moved forward, hand extended to shake.  
"I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I realise you know my name but I don't know yours"

He looked at her hand before looking her in the eye and placing his hand in hers.

"David"

_'Ah, Prince Charming'_

Mary-Margaret moved to Swan "Emma? What do you think?"

_'So her name's Emma. Emma Swan, rings well'_

Emma paused staring at the smaller woman before looking to Watcher again, looking at her hard in focus.

_'Her __**'Super Power'**__'_

"I don't know" she finally stated.

Watcher rolled her eyes and held out her arms to Emma.

"Just stick me in a cell, we can figure this out later"

Emma moved towards Watcher, pulling her cuffs off her belt and placing them around the others wrists

"You're an odd one, aren't you"

"I was odd even in my home dimension"

Emma led her from the Loft, to the stairwell and eventually to the car on the street, the others remaining in the Loft gazing through windows.

As the car pulled away Belle finally spoke for the first time since entering the Loft, voicing the thought that was on everyone's mind.

"Just wait until Regina finds out"


	3. Chapter 3

The car ride to the station was anything but quiet.  
It was more or less Watcher trying to justify herself to the Saviour.

"I know what happened with Cora. Things involved with that, that you might not know, that may help you understand"

She fiddled with the cuffs but stopped and gave a small smile as Emma glanced at her reflection in the rear view mirror.

There was a snap of metal and with panicked eyes Emma slammed on the brakes, turning in her seat to a now grinning Watcher, who was holding out the cuffs to her.

"They were starting to hurt" she stated innocently.

Emma stared at her incredulously.

"You got outta them?!"

Watcher threw up her hands nonchalantly.

"Escapism is one of the first things they teach you before you go to your first dimension"

"You went to Watcher school?" Emma stated disbelievingly.

"All new recruits have to go to the CSAWA. We have to learn different and specific things just in case we're ever in a situation where we need to get away. We wanna be beaten, tortured and dissected as much as you do" she finished rather snappishly and sarcastically.

Emma's brow furrowed.

"I thought Rumplestiltskin said you didn't cross between dimensions? Why would you need to know all that sort of stuff?"

Watcher dead paned.

"He didn't say we didn't drop in. We do occasionally have to come across. But like I said, I purposefully broke the rules"

A honk behind them broke their focus. Emma turned back to the road and, carefully picking up speed, continued onto their intended destination.

"Hang on, if you're a trained escape artist, why am I taking you to the station?! You'll just break out!"

Watcher sighed as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I want you to trust me, that's the last thing I would do! Besides, if I didn't want to be caught, I wouldn't have gone to Granny's in the first place!"

They pulled up in front of the station and Watcher got out of the car as Emma did, waiting for the blonde to come around to her.  
As Emma reached Watcher a friendly voice hallooed them from across the street, and an orange haired bespectacled man with a Dalmatian trotted toward them.

"Hi'ya Sheriff"

"Hey Archie. Everything alright?"

He adjusted his glasses on his nose and smiled "Yeah, yeah. I just came across to say 'Hi' and ask about Henry and your mom. I haven't seen you guys in a while is all"

_'He's a real bad liar' _Watcher thought.

"Who's this?"

Watcher gave him a friendly smile, but hoped her eye's gave away her knowing.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know"

His smile faulted and he became nervous "Wha-what?"

Emma stepped in to rescue him.

"Uh, new arrival Archie"

He blinked at Emma as his dog started to lick Watchers hand.

"What?! Wha-wh...New arrival?! What do mean?"

"She means I'm from out of town. My name's The Watcher...I have said that way too many times today"

He gaped at her "A Watcher?!"

"Oh so you've heard of me! Fab, that means I don't have to go into details! Were we going in or not?" Watcher directed the last part at Emma.

"Sorry Archie, I'm taking her in"

Emma guided Watcher through the doors, but Archie wasn't having it and followed them in.

"What do you mean taking her in?! This is _**A**__**Watcher**__!_ You don't** "**_**take in"**___A Watcher! If she's here, then she's here for a reason. You need to let her do her thing!"

Watcher halted, as did Emma whom she sent a look that said **_'I got this'_** and turned to Archie.

"You're the psychiatrist right?"

He nodded

"So you're Jiminy Cricket"

He nodded again, wide eyed.

"Just checking is all. Look, don't worry. I said she could"

The cell door closed, pausing their conversation momentarily.  
Emma moved to her desk leaving them to talk.

"What do you mean? Why would you do that?" his question was so soft she almost didn't hear it.

"Because they don't trust me and I need them to. Scratch that I want them to!"

His dog whined sadly and she kneeled down to pet him through the bars.

Archie watched sadly for five minutes before Emma ushered him out.

"Drop by any time. I'm not going anywhere!" Watcher called to him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Hey!**

** I hope you're all enjoying the story so far.**

**Here's the next chapter and I hope it keeps you reading.**

**R**

* * *

Emma walked back through the door to Mary-Margaret's Loft an hour later.

Belle and Rumplestiltskin had left a while ago, leaving the remaining three to converse and voice their opinions of this, _'Watcher'_.

She leaned against the door, eyes closed and sighing heavily, willing the sounds around her to be silent

"What's up?"

Her father's voice broke through her attempt.

She answered him quietly when he finally came to a stop next to her.

"Oh, nothing. She's just so, I dunno...strange. And I feel like I wanna trust her but at the same time, I think I'm afraid to or something. She requested a violin"

He looked at her odd "A violin? Why would she want a violin?"

Emma threw up her hands and moved next to her mother in the kitchen.

"She said to keep her entertained. That and she needs to keep up her practice. She's an escape artist too! She broke outta the handcuffs while I was driving!"

She made a face "She said they were hurting her"

Mary-Margaret stopped what she was doing and looked at her daughter.

"Well if she's an escape artist, why did you leave her by herself?!" she questioned, panicked.

"She told me she wants us to trust her. She persuaded me to leave her a come back here. Said she'd be there in the morning. If she is I'll get her the damn violin"

Henry and Mary-Margaret looked at her, confused about the violin reference as they hadn't really heard that part of the conversation.

"Archie already trusts her"

"Archie?"

Emma nodded and lifted herself onto the counter top.

"We ran into him outside the station"

She stole a cookie from the batch that had just come out of the oven, Mary-Margaret giving her a playful but disapproving look.

Emma then walked around toward the small table, petting her sons head before sitting down next to him and giving him a loving smile.  
She then turned to her mother.

"She said she knows what happened with Cora. She said, and I quote, **'things involved that I might not know that might help me to understand'**"

Mary-Margaret's head tilted to the side in curiosity "You think she knows what happened in the Enchanted Forrest?"

"From how she's been described I wouldn't doubt it" her daughter replied critically

* * *

The next day, Emma, joined by Henry and David, with a determined step entered the Sheriff's Station, coming to an abrupt stop at the sight of an empty cell.

"I knew I shouldn't have left last night!" she stated falling into panic mode, but still managing to keep her head

"Where do you think she could be?" Henry asked looking up to her.

Just then, Watcher entered from behind them, with Emma's coffee mug in hand, steam pouring out from the heat of its contents.

"Yo!"

David and Emma stared at her incredulously.

"What're you doing out of your cell?"

Watcher gave them a side glace but continued back into her cell, closing the door.

"There! Happy?"

"It's an improvement, but that's not what I asked!" Emma replied

"I needed my morning juice! I'm not a morning person! Besides, I never left the station and I'm sure you can find some evidence to support my theory!"

They faltered at the icy severity of her voice and it took a few seconds for them to regain their composure.

"Hey, that's my mug!"

Watcher placed said mug on the floor of her cell before she all but fell onto the bed provided

"You're only just picking up on that now?"

She then pulled out a phone like device, more screen then phone, with a strap.  
Sliding her hand into the strap, she began to move her arm, the device emitting a chorus of melodic notes.

"What's that?" Henry asked walking towards the cell.

Watcher and Henry's conversation fell into the background as Belle walked in with Ruby

"Hi guys"

Ruby held out a bag.

"Got a call for a breakfast delivery. Granny's not happy, I gotta get back to work ASAP"

Emma sighed taking the bag from her "Thanks Ruby, how much?"

"Nine seventy five"

Emma pulled out ten dollars and handed it to Ruby.

"I know it's not much, but keep the change"

Ruby and Belle waved their goodbyes and exited as Archie entered.

The blue-grey eyes of Watcher zoned onto him as he came into her view.

"Archie, my man! Did you bring what I asked?"

He held up the bag that had previously gone unnoticed.

Emma stepped in front of him "I'll take that"

She opened up the bag and both her and David looked in. Looking toward each other and sharing a look before Emma turned and walk to the cell.

Henry now had the device in hand and was trying to master it, which was obviously more difficult than Watcher made it look.

Emma handed the two bags to the girl through the bars.

"I didn't say you could use the phone"

Watcher cocked an eyebrow.

"Well you weren't using it" she stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

She pulled out a grilled sandwich and took a bite before shooing both Henry and Emma away and reaching into the other bag, pulling out a change of clothes.

David and Archie turned away quickly, David calling over his shoulder.

"There is a bathroom where you can change you know"

Watcher snorted "I know, but **someone** doesn't like me leaving my cell!"

"Where did you even get Archie's number?" Emma questioned.

"It's the office. There's a folder dedicated to phone numbers"

She looked over to Watcher feeling like a ticking time bomb.

"You went through my desk?!"

Watcher threw on her new shirt and moved over to the bars, sliding her arms through and leaning to look at Emma as best she could.

"I was here all night without supervision and do you know how hard these beds are to sleep on?"

"Yeah well, I'm not gonna make that mistake twice" Emma looked at her wide eyed before placing her face in her hands and turning away.

"She's gonna drive me insane" She heard a snigger behind her before directing her attention back to her father and Archie.

"You can look now, she's done"

* * *

Hours later and Emma still hadn't left the station, choosing to stay and keep an eye on their new visitor.

She was currently seated at her desk with files of paper work that needed to be completed, thanks to Watcher and her break in escapades around town.

She rubbed at her eyes.  
The strain of the paper work and thinking on the person they now named taking its toll.  
She decided she needed a break.

She walked out of her office and towards the other desk, pulling out the other chair and pulling it up next to the cell.

Watcher, who had given Henry her device and so had nothing to do, turned her head at the movement and observed Emma observing her.

After a minor pause Watcher broke the silence "What d'you wanna know?"

Emma leaned forward on her knees

"Well firstly, how'd you get outta your cell?"

Watcher smirked at her "You wanna learn from the master huh?"

"I like to think I'm already as much of a master as I can be"

They both chuckled.

"In Watcher school, as you eloquently put it earlier, when they teach you how to pick a lock they teach you to use everything and anything around you to your disposal"

Emma nodded "In the car yesterday, you said you knew information about Cora?"

Watcher shrugged.

_'So that's what this is about'_

"Depends where you're up to in your story. I may be A Watcher and I may have been here for a couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean I can keep track of the story as it plays out, I've been left outta the loop in this instance. I mean, I read the files before I left, but I don't know where we're all up to. So in a small town everyone knows where everyone's at, right?"

Emma's eyes narrowed trying to understand "I guess"

"So...what was the last major event that happened in this town? Magical event that is"

"Well..."Emma considered her words before she said them.

"Mary-Margaret and I recently got back from the Enchanted Forrest"

Watcher nodded.

_'That means Cora and Hook are here' _she thought to herself.

"...and Regina, that's the mayor of the town-"

"I know, I read the files"

Emma blinked at her

"I should've guessed that. Anyway, Regina has gone into hiding after she was accused of killing Archie, but as you've seen, Archie is very much alive"

"So you're aware of Cora's presence then?"

Emma nodded sadly.

"We are, but...Regina went into hiding because of us and now we can't find her to let her know about her mother...or to apologise"

Watcher sighed.

"I suppose since I've already broken the rules, I guess I can tell you where Regina's hiding"

Emma blinked at her "Are you allowed to do that?"

"You act like I still have a job. Now if I tell you, you have to go now! Cora is here for Regina. She's going to manipulate her as much as she can to get her on side. You have to get to her first!"

Emma nodded again and sat up listening intently.


	5. Chapter 5

Watcher was, again, left alone overnight. But she didn't mind.

It gave her time to go through Emma's desk some more and a chance to try and get to know The Saviour more.  
Well that was the idea anyway, it didn't really help much.

And so, with her feet on the blonde sheriff's desk, she contentedly fell asleep in the desk chair provided, just like the night before.

* * *

In the later, but still early hours of the morning she was awoken by Henry poking her roughly in the ribs.

"My mom probably won't be happy if she finds you outta your cell again. Even more so if she finds you in her chair"

Watcher nodded and moved out of the chair and office.

"So, your mum is Emma? I can see the resemblance. You have her nose...and her chin"

He chuckled and rubbed his chin absentmindedly, walking with her to her cell.

"Well actually I have two moms. Emma and Regina, the Evil Queen. She's also the mayor of the town"

She pulled the door shut and turned to stare out at him "If I'm gonna be in here, you're gonna have to get me my morning cocoa"

He looked at her questioningly "Cocoa?"

"What? I don't like coffee. And can you put a little cinnamon in it please? Thanks"

As he looked at her, his brow met his hairline "Cinnamon?"

Her brow furrowed and she looked at him seriously as she nodded, staring after him as he walked toward the small kitchen located elsewhere within the vicinity.  
She sat on the bed, still looking out after he'd turned the corner and disappeared from view.

After a few seconds something registered in her mind and didn't realise it had left her mouth until it was too late.

"That boy is strange..."

"I would call him...different" a voice piped up.

Watcher didn't move.

"Have we met before? Are you friend or foe?" she asked sarcastically, as she recognised the voice.

"That would depend on what you think from our last meeting" the voice stated, revealing itself to be Rumplestiltskin.

"Are you here for an insight to the future?" she asked casually but cautiously.

He just chuckled to himself and waltzed toward her cell, making her stand again and step back against the wall.

He came to a stop, leaning on his cane but with one hand he held one of the bars, sneering at her.

"Why are you really here?!"

"I told you why. I got bored and broke the rules"

"Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"I don't really know. But you said it yourself! You don't know much about me! So I'd take a step back if I were you!"

"Rumplestiltskin!"

Both Watcher and Rumplestiltskin looked over his shoulder to see an extremely exasperated Emma, who had a long black case in hand.  
"What're you doing here?"

He turned to her completely and Watcher savoured the way he twitched angrily.

"I'm merely questioning the suspect. I believe she's here for a greater reason than she lets on"

Emma sighed and placed the case on the desk provided.  
"I questioned her yesterday. And she gave valuable information that lead to Regina's where abouts...unfortunately we were too late. Cora got to her first"

Emma moved to the door of the cell.  
"Should I bother unlocking it?" she asked skeptically.

Watcher moved and opened said door.  
"No" she said, smiling up cheekily at Emma.

Emma smirked back as only a mother could, her head shaking as she ruffled Watcher's hair.

_'What? You like me now?'_

"So what's your next move Sheriff?"

Emma placed a hand on the black case "My first move, is to give this to you. I think you earned it"

Watcher moved next to Emma, letting her fingers dance across the lid.

_'Is this what I think it is?!'_

Her eyes shone with glee as she lifted the lid. Seated inside was a brand new, sparkling Violin, polished to the nines.  
She picked it up carefully, running her fingers over the wood work.

"I even had Marco engrave your name into the bow. It was difficult, but he managed it"

Sure enough, the word _'Watcher'_ danced in light curling cursive lettering along the wood of the bow.

"Miss Swan. Why did you buy her a Violin?" Rumplestiltskin asked her.

"Because she asked for it" she replied, not even looking to him.

"And your second move, Sheriff Swan?" Watcher voiced, even though she already had an idea of what that second move might be.

Emma hesitated

"My second move is to ask you what else you know that might help us..."

"But that doesn't mean you're giving me accommodating accommodations" Watcher stated making Emma nod at her correct theory.

_'Figures'. _

_"_I need a place to call my own, to take a shower at least. And Henry should be back any moment with my morning juice"


	6. Chapter 6

**Only a short chapter this time.**  
**I hope you've all been enjoying the story so far.**

**R**

* * *

Mary-Margaret had been kind enough to let Watcher use her bathroom at her Loft where they could all question her, as well as keep an eye on her.

Watcher had been hidden away in the bathroom for half an hour now.

"She must be enjoying herself" Mary-Margaret said absentmindedly.

"Any longer in there and she'll be a mermaid" David put in jokingly.

"Yeah well, I'll be sending her my next water bill" she threw back.

They smiled at each other, chuckling.

Emma rapped on the bathroom door.

"You okay in there? You haven't drowned have you?" she yelled through the door.

"Would you prefer it if I had?" came the reply.

Emma shared a look with her parents, muttering "Smartass" under her breath.

The door opened and Watcher stepped out in an old dress of Mary-Margaret's.

"I heard that" she said with a smile.

"I put your other clothes through the wash and I hope you don't mind, but I threw out your old shoes. They had holes in the soles. But I left out a pair of boots of mine that might fit, if you want them. I don't wear them anymore" said Mary-Margaret.

This was all said rather quickly so it took a minute for Watcher to comprehend and respond "Oh. Thanks. You didn't have to, but thanks"

She looked a little nervous at all this.

They all looked at her somewhat confused.

"Are you not used to people being kind to you?" David questioned carefully.

She looked at each of them in turn before speaking "Umm...didn't you want to pick my brains about...stuff?"

Obviously these new questions would have to wait for another day.

Emma was the first to react.  
"Right. Is there anything you can tell us about Cora, or Hook, or why they're in Storybrooke and why they've involved Regina?"

"I can't tell you anything about their plan or why they're here, that would interfere with the story, but I think it would be pretty obvious. Not meaning to sound rude or anything" she added hurriedly in her defence.

"And I don't exactly understand why it involves Regina. Cora may just want her on side, but it may have something to do with power too, I dunno" she shrugged at her words.

"And I can't say anything much about Cora or Hook because that may also interfere with the story somehow"

She looked to Emma sadly, who only sighed, placing a hand on the younger females shoulder.

"So, if you can't tell us anything, why did we even bother to bring you here?"

Everyone jumped at the sound of Rumplestiltskin's voice, having forgotten that he was there altogether.

"Because I needed a shower and you like me?" Watcher tried, smiling widely and easing the tension slightly for the other three.  
Her smile slipped as he remained unmoving.

She moved to try the boots on, and was more than happy to say that they did fit.

Emma's eyes lit up as she watched Watcher.

"We may not know much, but we do know something. When they find out that A Watcher is in Storybrooke, they're gonna wanna see for themselves, so let's tell everyone"

Watcher eyed her curiously as the others stared at her confused.

"I don't think I understand you Emma" Mary-Margaret said, starting to look worried.

"Miss Swan" Rumplestiltskin began "If word reaches them that there is A Watcher in town, a person who knows everything about everyone and knows the beginning, middle and ending of every story, someone who could possibly interfere with their plans because they already know their next move before they do, they're going to want to get rid of her" he stated earnestly.

"Fine then, we put word out that there's a new person come to Storybrooke, and that **won't** get their attention! If we tell everyone about her, about **who** she is, they will come to us and we'll have a chance to end this now!"

"Or they'll have a chance to kill her **now**!" Mary-Margaret stated severely.

"But what if it works?" David said quietly.

Mary-Margaret looked at her husband skeptically, gaping like a fish.

Watcher sniggered "And you said I'd be the one to grow gills earlier"

Mary-Margaret's eyes narrowed at her as David and Emma looked at Watcher confused and Rumplestiltskin's snort turned into a sneeze.

"Don't I get a say in this? Look, I've been trained to take care of myself and to get myself **out** of any situation I can get myself **into**. This'll be a walk in the park!"

Watcher looked Emma dead in the eye.

"Let it be screamed from the rooftops. There is A Watcher and she's here to stay!"

Emma and her father gave a satisfied grin where as Mary-Margaret and Rumplestiltskin, rather unconventionally, looked toward each other and shared a frown of concern.

* * *

Days later, everyone knew who Watcher was and what she was.  
She was the talk of the town.

After their talk the other night, Emma took the girl back to the station so their plan could unfold and so far nothing but talk had happened.

Watcher had with her another change of clothes and shoes, thanks to Mary-Margaret, and her device back from Henry.

Mary Margaret was making a snack for herself and Henry when it all began.

There came a banging at the door, which Henry answered.  
Ruby stood on the other side, a look of terror adorning her features "Cora and Regina are at the station!"

At that precise moment an explosion shook the Loft.

The three of them looked at each other in shock.  
Mary-Margaret grabbed her jacket of the hook "Henry, Stay here!"

"No! I'm coming with you!"

She rounded on him "No you are not! You're staying where it's safe!"

And with that she closed the door and ran down the stairs with Ruby, out onto the street where she was met with a sight that made her glad she'd said what she said to Henry.


	7. Chapter 7

**This ones a musical chapter.**  
**Just a little something different, I hope you enjoy it.**

**R**

* * *

**(Twenty minutes before)**

Emma had left her for a while.  
Word had come in that Hook had been seen around looking suspicious.

Watcher was seated in her cell, again, playing with her device. Her new violin sat underneath her bed having been used previously, so much that her fingers hurt.

The sounds of heels on the tiled floor reached her ears and her hand halted in midair, half expecting Emma to come around the corner with a grilled cheese in hand.  
She was met with a different face though; a new one...actually two new faces.

_'This is what I've been waiting for! I'm glad I'm wearing pants today...'_

"I'm assuming you're Cora and Regina?" she said lowering her arm and placing her device with the violin.

"You assume correct" the younger of the two stated moving closer to the cell, but still keeping at a distance.

Watcher moved to the bars and placed her eyes on the oldest of the two, who stopped in her tracks. The cocky smile that she had entered with falling from her face into one of shock and awe.

_'An unusual reaction, not what I was expecting'_

The other looked to the elder "Mother? Is something wrong?"

_'So that's Cora'_

"So you're Henry's mother then, Regina?" it was a statement rather than a question

"You've met my son?"

Watcher nodded "Sweet kid. He has natural born rhythm"

Regina gave her a look of disgust.

Cora fell to sit on the desk "It can't be"  
this was said almost as a whisper.

Regina moved to her mother staring at her stricken face "What can't be mother? What is it?"

The stare the elder woman was giving her was freaking her out now.

"Not to be rude" Watcher said "But, this is really starting to get awkward-"

She opened the door next to her and stood in front of them "-And I have a dead line to keep"

She pulled out the gun Emma had given her to protect herself and squeezed the trigger, but wasn't surprised when it was thrown from her grasp and the bullet was frozen mid air and then dropped to the floor.

"That was either extremely stupid or mildly brave" Regina said through her teeth.

Watcher cracked a grin "I like to think I'm stupidly brave"

The situation seemed to have snapped Cora out of whatever state she had been in, but she didn't look angry, just upset.

* * *

_**(Music Start: David Guetta – Titanium)**_

* * *

Watcher made a bolt for the door, managing to duck underneath a fireball that made her fall on her butt.  
Next thing she knew she was being thrown through a window out into the street, backward rolling like a tumble-weed and landing flat on her stomach.

A car screeched to a stop next to her, the driver got out and ran, as did everyone else. Hopefully someone went to get Emma and the others.

A puff of purple smoke made her jump to her feet and roll out of the way behind the car as another fireball scorched the cement where she'd been seconds before.  
There was a puff of dark blue smoke next to her and she looked up into the face of Cora, she bolted in the other direction, another ball of fire barely missing her.  
That blew up the car behind her.

"You should stop running. It'll be less painful that way" Regina called to her.

Watcher ducked around the corner of a shop breathing heavily.

She saw Mary-Margaret and Ruby running down the street towards her. They both narrowly avoided a flaming mass that was aimed at them

"Come out, come out, where ever you are! We haven't got all day!"

A look came over Watchers face and something in her demeanour changed.

_'She wants the hard ball!'_

She put her remote headphones on, chose a song and stepped out to greet the grinning Regina.

"You wanna play? Let's play! Watchers aren't magical by any means, but we can attain a talent which is akin to magic, crossed with science and technology!"

She walked further down the street as she explained this, removing her jacket to reveal a shimmering set of markings across her shoulders and upper, upper, arms that disappeared underneath the fabric of the strappy shirt she wore.  
They almost seemed as if they were moving.

She set herself in a specific stance; feet apart, right knee bent in, right arm straight to match the straight leg and her left arm bent up toward her right shoulder.  
Her stance.

The air shimmered around her.

She slid her left hand from her shoulder to her elbow.  
This little movement only made Regina smirk with mirth, it was a seemingly innocent move, but if you were observing from behind, you would have seen the markings moving like magnets in the direction her hand did.

The markings solidified as they met her palm.

She pulled away and around in front of her holding a pole of some sort, something sharp and deadly appearing from behind her, rising from her other shoulder.  
She swung the blade downwards and behind her, spinning in the process and as she did so, another blade appeared from her body and at the other end of the staff she held.

The staff turning out to be a four bladed dual ended scythe, its sharpness shining on the outside rather than the inside of the blades.  
Each end also held a spear head, sharpened to match the blades and shone golden in the smoke shadowed light.  
She finished in the same stance she'd begun with.

Regina's face paled noticeably, but she didn't waver "You think some pointy stick is going to scare me?"

It was at this point Watcher noticed that Cora was nowhere to be seen.

"It should bitch" she muttered.

She moved her weapon so she could advance on Regina, who matched her pace and held a fire ball at the ready.

When there were only a few meters between them, Regina let it fly and watched as the other diminished it with a blade.

She hit halt, but the young Watcher still advanced, spinning up the blades and spinning again with expert skill to attack, four blades moving at almost unseeable speeds in six different directions at once, or so it seemed.

It was really two moves, one up and one down, but it was enough to throw Regina and others that were watching.

In a puff of smoke Regina disappeared...and didn't reappear.

* * *

_**(End Music)**_

* * *

Her scenes still on high, Watcher jumped at the sound of Mary-Margaret calling her.

Watcher turned, raising her weapon, the edge settling close at Mary-Margaret's throat and the spear head near her jugular.

Ruby grabbed her from behind just in time and snarled at Watcher.

Mary-Margaret eyed the blade before letting her eyes fall on the person that held it, noticing that the girls pupils had dilated noticeably and her face held a deranged look.

"Watcher, it's me. Mary-Margaret"

Watcher sighed and they watched as her weapon seemed to slide under her skin, up her arm and settle on her back again.

Everyone breathed in relief and David and Emma made an appearance from behind Watcher, embracing and asking Mary-Margaret if she was alright.

"I'm fine! Really!"

Watcher turned to leave but was grabbed and pulled into a body, this persons arms holding her tight, cradling her as if she would break.

Mary-Margaret pulled away and held her face, staring into her eyes which had gone back to normal now.  
She stared at Watcher hard, a worried expression dancing across her face and through her eyes.

Everyone watched on, David and his daughter sharing a look.

"You're staying at my place tonight. No buts!" Mary-Margaret said forcefully as Watcher went to argue, she pulled her back into her embrace and then led her back to the Loft.


	8. Chapter 8

She spent the night in a real bed, something she hadn't had the pleasure in doing in a long while. But her sleep was interrupted during the breakfast hour by a shout and someone firing a gun.

She rolled off the side of the bed in shock and opened her eyes to see remnants of blue smoke.

Emma, gun at the ready, looked down to where she was situated on the floor.

"You alright?"

Watcher gave herself a quick pat down _'Arms, legs, head'_ she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Yeah, seem to be. That's definitely what I'd call a wakeup call!" She looked towards the wall.

"Mary-Margaret's gonna kill you" she stated off handedly.

Emma looked to the wall and made a noise of discomfort and concern "You might be right, should I go into hiding?"

They shared an amused look and the sound of a door banging open caught their attention.

"Emma?! Watcher?!"

Emma quickly made her way down stairs as did Watcher, only slower.

Watcher made her way over to the kitchen bench and proceeded to make herself something to eat.

_'Cereal will do'_

And just watched as the conversation started to flow.

"What was that?! What happened?!" Mary-Margaret's voice was frantic as David pulled Emma into a quick embrace.

"Nothing I couldn't handle" Emma replied "I went to wake up Watcher and Cora was in the room"

Watcher stopped eating and stared up at the Saviour, mouth full, making a noise that would be akin to 'Ehh?!'

"Cora?! Well what do you think she was doing here?" David asked.

Emma shrugged.

"She was just standing over her when I saw her, I don't know how long she'd been there. Actually it looked as if she was just watching her sleep"

Another noise was made by Watcher.

"Well how did you get rid of her?"

Watcher raised a brow in amusement and just looked into her bowl.

"Uhh...I shot at her"

Mary-Margaret's head tilted by a miniscule amount "There better not be bullet holes in my wall"

Emma and Watcher shared a look, slightly amused and slightly I-told-you-so. Mary-Margaret folded her arms and her mouth fell open.

"You shot my wall?!" she said disbelievingly.

David turned his wife to look at him "I don't think that's the bigger issue here. The bigger issue is what Cora wants with her"

Three sets of eyes turned to Watcher.

She swallowed her last mouthful of breakfast and dumped the bowl in the sink.

"Don't look at me! I only met her for the first time yesterday. Although that was a strange meeting..."

"What d'you mean? Strange how?"

Something caught Watchers attention, though it wasn't really unusual if she thought about it "Where's Henry?"

"School"

"I thought you were a teacher?" she stated, pointing to Mary-Margaret

"I have a late start"

"Oh..."

Emma cleared her throat "This, strange meeting?"

"Right!"

Watcher moved around the island to sit at the table, Mary-Margaret joining her.

"When she saw me, this look of...incredulity came over her face! Like she couldn't believe I was real or something like that. And she looked thrilled but poignant the last time I saw her, before the car was exploded, like she was tearing herself apart on the inside"

They had all been listening to her vigilantly, but their thinking had now come to a standstill, trying to decipher Cora's strange actions

"Now that you mention it, I remember Regina being the one who was attacking" Mary-Margaret voiced

"I only saw Cora once and she didn't even lift a finger and then she disappeared and she was just...gone!"

"In the station, before I was so rudely thrown through the window, she did say something weird. She said "It can't be" which to me sorta gives an indication that she already knows me, even though I don't know her"

David leaned on the table next to Mary-Margaret "And the only one who can give any answers to these questions is Cora!"

Watcher stared toward David, then let her face fall into her hands before speaking "I'm going back to the cell, aren't I?"

Mary-Margaret gripped her hand from across the table.

"Sorry kid" Emma replied.

"If Cora's gonna come here looking for you, I can't have Emma putting more holes in my walls" Watcher looked into Mary-Margaret's face "Don't ever let her live it down!"

* * *

Mary-Margaret had packed a few of her old clothes in a bag for Watcher and gave her a warm hug as the girl exited the Loft with Emma.

Watcher was feeling more at home the longer she stayed in this dimension.

She'd never encountered nicer people, well aside from a mad man who lived in a blue box, whom she'd hung around with for a while, and not as mad as you would think really.

But they were definitely up there.

* * *

Emma let her sit up front with her this time, no cuffs either and all was quiet the whole way to the station...and past it.

The car was turned at a corner and suburbia began to pop up around them as they travelled uphill for a bit.  
On the flat, they pulled up out front of a house. A two story, dark and light brown weatherboarded house, with an attic, two turrets one at the back and one at the front with a green railed veranda.

"What are we doing here?"

Emma turned to her, thinking hard on her words.  
"Rumplestiltskin came by while you were sleeping. He's devised a way to cross the town line without losing his memories and he wants me to go with him, of course Henry wants to come too. I called him while you were getting changed and told him what you told us. He suggested that you stay at his place, because he's taken the necessary measures to safe guard his house. He's waiting inside for you now, I think he wants to go through some things before leaving"

"Isn't Belle his sweetheart? So wouldn't she be here?"

Emma looked away sadly before turning back to Watcher.

"There was an incident involving Belle, Rumplestiltskin and Hook...and a car. Hook shot Belle who was with Rumplestiltskin, and then a car, that was coming into Storybrooke, hit Hook and ran into a tree. The end result is, there's a new arrival in Storybrooke, Hook's in the hospital, handcuffed to his bed, and Belle's in hospital after accidentally crossing the town line and losing her memories...Rumplestiltskin's not in a great state of mind at the moment and he seems to be really mad with Cora being around. I don't think he wants to give her the chance of having her way, especially if it involves you"

Watcher looked at her agape, mind buzzing "When did this happen?!"

"Last night"

"**_Last night!_** So all that stuff with Dr Whale going missing and him turning out to be Dr Frankenstein happened **_last night!_**"

Emma looked at her. It was her turn to be agape. "How do you know all this?"

Watcher gave her a pointed look which caused the older woman to blink in realisation "Right"

_'I'm messing up the timeline of the story! I should've just stayed incognito!'_

* * *

Emma walked Watcher to the door and knocked. About five minutes later the familiar sound of Gold's cane sounded behind the door and it opened to reveal him.

"Sheriff Swan, Watcher. Please come in."

Emma waved him off "I won't, I still have packing to do. I'll see you when we get back Watcher"

She gave her a hug and left, her little yellow bug seeming to move quicker, leaving, than it did coming.

Watcher turned slowly and nervously to Rumplestiltskin, who stepped aside to allow her entry

"Well?"

She gulped inaudibly and entered the premises. Half expecting to fizzle into nothingness as she did, at least then she'd be out of this awkward situation. But nothing happened, other than Gold shutting the door loudly, which made her jump.

"This way please" he said moving to the stairs.

Watcher followed him down the hall to a door.

"This will be your room"

She opened the door to a mustard yellow room, with only a bed, a desk and a wardrobe.

"The bathroom's the second on the right from your door. Also, while you're here, I'd appreciate it if you didn't enter mine or Belle's rooms. I have an hour before I leave with Miss Swan, but I'd like to try and see Belle before then if I can. Now I'll leave you to make yourself at home and when you come down I have a request I'd like to discuss with you"

He closed the door as he left her.

She threw her bag on the bed, deciding to unpack later.

_'I wonder what'll happen next? When will it happen next? I can't believe this!'_


	9. Chapter 9

She made her way down stairs and into what looked to be a living room.  
She wandered through, admiring the decor and detail, into the kitchen, dining and through the rest of the house. It was only then that she noticed she hadn't come across Rumplestiltskin in her wanderings.

She made her way upstairs again and down the hall, observing for signs of another person and she was too scared to check in any of the rooms, she didn't know whose room was whose anyway, aside from her own as she'd left the door open.

She found the stair to the attic and made her way up to the door.

_'All the doors are closed...is that even mentally healthy?'_

she knocked and turned the handle.

Looking inside she didn't see him anywhere but there was a door that opened onto a balcony. The sunlight streamed in, lighting up the lavish room.

The walls were a moss green colour and there were tapestries and a red velvet cushioned lounge, a king size four poster bed sat in front of the large window which was closed with matching green curtains.

"I don't think I'm meant to be here" she closed the door and made her way back down the stairs, meeting Rumplestiltskin as she turned the corner at the bottom.

_'Uh-oh'_

"Any reason you were snooping, Little Miss Watcher?"

she squeaked at the question while he gave her a look that said_** 'I'm Waiting'** _

"I wasn't really snooping, not intentionally. I went down stairs, but I couldn't find you."

"So you were looking for me then" he stated

"Yes! Now what did you want to discuss?"

He pointed toward her "That question will be better answered down at my shop"

_'His shop?'_

"Your shop?"

"Yes my shop"

"Your shop?"

"Is there an echo in here?"

Watcher paused staring at him in slight disbelief "Alright, let's go then"

* * *

The bell dinged as they entered the Pawn Shop and Watcher couldn't help but stare at all the marvellous things that cluttered up the walls and ceiling, given most were everyday regular things like bikes and clocks, but if you looked careful enough you could see different tea sets, cutlery and decorative knives, as well as a gramophone that sat on the counter, there was even a collector's edition Mickey Mouse phone.

"So what's up?"

Rumplestiltskin guided her to the back room before their conversation started, a unicorn mobile caught the light and her attention, and she smiled at it as rainbows danced on her hair.

"Since I'm leaving Storybrooke for a few days, I'm going to need someone to look after the shop. Usually I would just close up until I got back, but I can't chance it with Cora running about. And with your display on the street the other day, I can easily say, you are more than qualified"

She blinked at him for a minute "Uh, yeah sure. I guess I can look after the shop...anything I need to know?"

"There's a book in the desk-"He moved to the desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a heavy looking, hard covered book, and placed it in front of her "-That I use to take inventory. I do inventory once a day, twice if I'm bored. It's easy to do. If you get lost, just follow items from the previous page. You won't have to worry too much about the register as no-one really comes in to buy anything"

He made his way back into the front shop, Watcher following him.

"But if anyone does, it's pretty simple"

Watcher observed quietly as he showed her, it was one of those antique registers.

"You put in the cost of the item, being careful to put in the decimal, press this button, then enter the amount that the customer gives you..."

"Being careful to put in the decimal" she put in, he smiled and nodded, but continued.

"And then press this button here and the register drawer will open. Got all that?"

Watcher nodded and he nodded to her in return he dropped the keys to the shop and house in front of her.

"I've already taken inventory today, so you won't have to worry. Now if you're alright to stay here, I'll be off to see Belle"

he walked around her toward the door, but her stupid mind got the better of her.

"Rumplestiltskin!"

He turned back to her.

"I'm sorry about Belle. If I could've done something..." she trailed off, feeling guilty.

She knew it was supposed to happen, she liked Belle and wished that it hadn't, but the timing and the story were running at different intervals now and nothing could be done.

"I like Belle. And I would never wish something like that on anyone..."

There was enough of a pause for him to be able to logically piece together her fragmented words.

"You knew. You knew it would happen!"

"It was supposed to happen that night when she met me! But the timing's off! Everything's different now! I can't control the story!"

"And you just let it happen!"

"It's supposed to push you!"

"It's pushing me to kill you!"

"It's supposed to push you to kill Cora!"

He froze "Kill Cora..."

"Well help anyway..." she set her palms on the counter top to steady herself.  
She could feel his anger welling off him in waves and she swore she could feel his magic radiating in her scenes, making her flinch. But he just turned away angrily and left the shop.

* * *

Watcher remained in the shop for a few minutes until she was absolutely sure he was gone, before moving to the door and leaving herself, locking the door behind her.

She made her way to the station, figuring that familiar surroundings would calm her shaking nerves.

She waved and said _**'Hi'** _to people that did and didn't know who greeted her as she walked, she even had a chat with Ruby who had come from seeing Belle in the hospital.

She entered the Sheriff Station, Ruby in tow and headed straight to her cell, well, old cell, ducking down and picking up her violin case, although her device was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you know if Henry took my phone?"

"Your phone?"

She checked in the violin case but things were already cramped enough in there.

"Yeah, the device I play with that plays music. It's actually my phone. It's one from another dimension, so it's different again but still has calling capabilities"

Ruby moved to the small desk by the cell, looking through its drawers saying "I don't think Henry would've taken it without your permission"

"Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind if he did, I'd just want to know all the same" Watcher replied as she moved into the main office and copying Ruby's actions.

"Hey" the two girls jumped as David spoke "Everything alright?"

Watcher placed a hand over her heart "Yeah. Do you know if Henry took my music device?"

"It's actually her phone" Ruby spoke up

"I don't think Henry would've taken it if he knew it was your phone..."

"I didn't tell him it was a phone"

"And I don't think my grandson would've stolen it" he gave Watcher a disapproving look, but Watcher was on the ball.

"I didn't say he stole it! I just can't find it and I was wondering if he had taken it, I wouldn't mind if he did, I'd just like to know"

"Why is it such a big deal if he has?" Ruby asked.

Watcher hesitated before saying anything "Henry's your grandson?" she asked David pointedly

"Don't change the subject"

Watcher deflated, her insides almost feeling like lead and it took a bit before she answered.

"My device isn't just a phone or a music player. It's what's called a Harboror or Harb for short. Basically it harbours the power of my WeaponNanos...my tattoo on my back" she verified for them, if their confused looks were anything to go by.

"Without it I'm defenceless"

Ruby moved from her side, but she wasn't paying much attention as David was still staring at her dumbfounded

"So if Regina and Cora attack..."

"I'll be useless in a fight"

David swung an arm around her shoulders "Then let's get you out of the open"

He guided her out of the station, Ruby again in tow holding her violin case, back to Rumplestiltskin's shop.

* * *

David left to inform Mary-Margaret and Ruby had left to pick up some food for her from Granny's

"Why don't people stick around?" she was leaning on one of the side counters spinning a globe having quite the conversation with herself, when the ground shook.

"Tiny's here" she stated absent minded to the air "I thought he was supposed to be here tomorrow...or was it a few days ago?"

"Either way he's just the distraction" said a voice from the door.

Upon looking up Watcher bolted toward the back room but as she ran through the arch way she was stopped by blue smoke and Cora's heartbreaking smile as the smoke cleared.  
Watcher stepped back and Cora quickly froze her in her place. Another puff of smoke and they were both gone from Gold's shop.

* * *

They appeared in a white room, a bedroom.

Watcher remained frozen as Cora approached her, cradling her face in her hands when she was close.

"It is you, oh! My how you've grown!"

Cora unfroze the young woman and pulled her into an embrace, when she pulled back Watcher swore she almost saw tears in the older woman's eyes.

"You know me?"

"Yes, I know you. Of course I wasn't sure at first and you ran from me the second time"

Watcher felt a chill run up her spine "How?"

Cora's brow furrowed in bewilderment "How what dear?"

"How do you know me?"

Cora gave a happy smile, or as happy a smile as she could give "Why, my dear, a mother never forgets her daughter"

Watcher was mortified and a sickening sensation settled in the pit of her stomach, threatening to spill over. Obviously this was some sick joke! Hopefully Ruby had alerted the others by now!

"I know you won't remember and there is an easy way to prove that what I'm saying is true, but I'll need a strand of your hair, if you don't mind"

Watcher was wary, but curious and so plucked a hair from her head, placing it in the vial that Cora held out to her.  
She corked the small bottle and gestured for Watcher to follow her, moving out the door and down the stairs, but as Watcher reached the bottom she found she couldn't go any further, hitting an invisible wall.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I can't have you running off out the front door and telling everyone where I am"

"So this was all a trick?"

"Oh no dear! I just don't want you running off. Regina dear, would you come here please?"

_**'Regina Dear'** _walked out from the kitchen and as soon as she saw Watcher had a fire ball in hand.

"Is that all you can conjure I would expect better" said Watcher cockily.

"What is she doing here?!" Regina fired at her mother, distinguishing the flames.

"I need one of your hairs" Cora replied calmly

"You didn't answer my question!"

"Give me one of your hairs and it will for me!" Cora said firmly

"She seems to think we're related" Watcher threw from the stairs, Regina looked at her dumfounded and sickened.

"What?!"

"Prove her wrong!" Watcher egged

_ 'This may be the only thing we ever agree on.' _she thought to herself.

Regina watched her for a minute before looking towards her mother "I will"

She pulled a hair from her head and her mother placed it in the vial with Watchers.

Cora pulled something else out of her pocket and poured a little of the concoction into the vial with the hairs, swishing its contents around gently. An instantaneous reaction happened, the liquid in the vial changing from translucent to a light purple colour with mixes of silver flowing through.

"It can't be?!"

_'You're starting to sound like your mother!'_

Watcher looked at Regina's shocked face "I take it by that reaction, that it's anything but negative"

Watcher sat on the stair as Cora turned to her "See"

"Show off's don't prosper. So, what? Did you erase my memories or something?"

"No, I didn't. You were just too young to remember"

"You know what, I don't wanna know" Watcher made her way back up the stairs and all but ran into the room she'd been in before.  
Slamming the door, she darted over to the window, Cora had thankfully decided to leave her alone.

_'Second floor, tree in front. Not too bad, I've fallen from worse'_


	10. Chapter 10

**P.O.V Change**

Cora stared up at her young daughter as she hurried up the stairs, completely understanding her point of view.  
After all she had been sent to another world at only three years of age.

"Mother!"

Cora turned back to her other daughter.

"When were you going to tell me about this?!"

"When I was sure . I don't understand what the problem is?"

Regina advanced on her mother.

"The problem is, this 'Watcher' turns up in Storybrooke and all of a sudden she's my sister! Excuse me if I don't believe that this is a coincidence!"

Cora placed a hand on Regina's shoulder"It is! I was just as shocked as you were when I saw her"

A look of realisation came over Regina's face.

"That's what you meant at the Sheriff's Station. That's why you reacted the way you did when you saw her"

Cora nodded at her.

"So who is she?"

Her mother kept her hand on her shoulder and looked at her hard "You already know her"

Regina could only stare at her mother "No..."

"Yes"

"But you told me she died!"

Cora remembered that conversation well. The way Regina broke down over her baby sister's supposed death, her words unintelligible over heavy sobs.

But Cora had to get rid of the child.  
Regina had become incorrigible and over protective of the child and if Cora hadn't gotten rid of the child when she did, Regina might never have become Queen.

Regina moved to the stairs but Cora waved a hand and the barrier reappeared, giving a zap and causing the elder sister to bounce back.

"What is the matter with you?! Let me see my baby sister!"

"I can't allow that. Let her adjust to this. She doesn't even remember you!"

"Did you erase her memories?!"

"No"

"Then I'm in there somewhere!"

They stared each other down for a minute until Cora gave an exasperated**_ "Fine"_ **and with a wave of her hand the invisible barrier fizzled into non-existence.  
She rolled her eyes, folded her arms and sighed as Regina disappeared upstairs.

_'Children!'_

Car tires screeched outside, but she paid no mind.

She thought back on the days that led up to the girl being sent away;

Regina had just celebrated her twenty first birthday a month and a half earlier, and within the month the little girl had become ill. Not severely so, but enough to make matters problematic.

She'd heard that the King was on look out for a wife and this was her chance to achieve her goal.

And so, just as the girl was recovering well, Cora sent her youngest daughter away and vowed the physician into silence.

Then conjuring a false body, had claimed that the girl had worsened and died in the night.

The King had arrived three months later.

Footsteps were heard thudding down the carpeted hall above her and Cora met the scared eyes of Regina as she almost threw herself over the railing above.

"What did you do?!" She screamed accusingly.

Cora remained calm, Regina was always accusing someone of something "I don't know what you mean?"

Regina made her way down as she spoke.

"She's gone! What did you do! Where did you send her?!"

"I didn't send her anywhere! I want her here as much as you do!"

"Well she's not here! Where could she have gone?! I doubt she's stupid enough to throw herself from the second floor! She could break something! You remember how fragile she was!"

"You don't know her now Regina! You saw how she was the other day when she went up against you, she's fearless! She scared The Evil Queen into remission! Maybe she** is** just stupid enough to jump from the second floor! Maybe she even landed on her feet without hurting herself, you don't know!"

her baby's words at the station echoed in her mind;

**_"I like to think I'm stupidly brave"_**

It seemed as if the baby of the family was exactly that.

* * *

**P.O.V Change**

**(Ten Minutes Earlier)**

Watcher hadn't exactly landed gracefully, in fact she had to bite down a yell as her ankle began to swell.

She had to drag herself out of Regina's yard and was now halfway down the block, gagging on bile at the thought of Cora being her mother.

_'What would push a person to send away a child?! I could understand if they couldn't provide for it or something, but knowing Cora, it would be some sick reason about power and plans!'_

She hobbled further on trying her best to forget everything she just found out.

A car pulled up in front of her, a red sports car, and out jumped Ruby.

"I have been looking everywhere for you! Where did you go?!" she paused momentarily as Watcher quickly wobbled over to her and she jumped forward to take her arm.

"What happened to you?!"

_** 'Cora'** _was the only reply she got as she bundled the injured girl into the passenger seat.  
Ruby ran to fall into the driver's seat and the tires screeched as Ruby executed a fast u-turn and made a beeline for The Hospital.

"So what did you do?" Ruby questioned when they were a fair distance away

"Jumped out a second story window..." Watcher said quietly hoping that She hadn't heard, but obviously she did if her next words were any indication.

"A second story window?!" she turned a corner viciously, narrowly avoiding another car.  
She screamed a _**'Sorry!'**_ out the window but kept going, same speed and everything, arriving at The Hospital in fifteen minutes.

Ruby had to pull Watcher's solid grip from the stabilizing handle above the door to get her out and helped her limp through the emergency doors calling for Doctor Whale, who actually happened to be close by.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Cora grabbed me. I had to jump outta second story window to escape. I landed wrong"

He helped to set her in a chair before examining her legs, gently twisting and pulling her joints to define what was wrong.

"Well you definitely landed wrong. Nothings broken, probably just a sprain. It's pretty quiet so I can set you up in a bed for a few hours, I'll check in later to see how you're healing"

He moved away to find someone to take her to a room while he tended to other patients.

Surprisingly enough, Watchers bed was situated in the same open room as Greg Mendell.

Ruby tried to strike up conversation, but failed, Watcher could feel her nervous shaking from where she sat.

"Uh, Ruby. Don't you suppose you should tell David and Mary-Margaret what happened?"

Ruby's eye lit up at the thought of an escape route "Yeah! I'll just go...do that."

_'If she leaves any quicker, she'll be running'_

A Nurse came by with a pair of crutches placing them against the wall.

"So what're you in for?"

Watcher tore her eyes away from the Nurse to the man lying in the bed across from her; she feigned interest in the conversation, ignoring the sick flip of her stomach as she remembered what havoc he was to cause later.

"A possible sprained ankle..."

The Nurse turned to Watcher, informing her that they would perform an X-Ray to make sure everything was alright

"...What about you?" she continued after the Nurse had left.

Greg cleared his throat and smiled at her,

_'Yeah that's right! Smile while you can!'_

"I got into a car accident" he gave a chuckle "The other guy's probably worse off though"

Watcher faked a smile of her own.

"Oh, you're the one Emma was talking about!"

He gave her a confused look, but she wasn't buying it

"Sheriff Swan"

He gave a silent _**'Oh'**_ and a nod of acknowledgement.

_'Maybe I should play on his good side?'_ so she continued on

"Yeah, she's great. I just got to town a few weeks ago, but she'd been taking care of me. I'm looking for someone"

This really caught his attention. Greg's face became excited.

"Can I ask you a strange question?"

She waved to say _**'she was listening'**_

"Have you seen any...strange things happening around here?"

She pretended to think about it before she gave an unsure answer.

"No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

He checked around to make sure no-one was nearby and indicated for her to come closer.  
She too took a quick look around, to keep up pretences, and grabbed the crutches from the wall. She pulled a chair close to the bed, and he situated himself in a more comfortable position.

"Before I had the accident, I saw someone, a man, throw a fireball!"

She pretended to look shocked, but then narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure it's not the meds making you dream things?"

He seemed to understand her speculation, even if it was false, but that didn't stop his anger seeping through

"No! It's not the medication! I really did see a man throw a fireball!"

"Okay! Okay, well have you told anyone else this?"

"No, I haven't. I told them I was texting and wasn't looking at the road when I hit the guy"

She leaned forward "Well don't tell anyone else. They might think you're crazy and I've heard that they actually have an institution somewhere in the hospital!"

He looked at her shocked and appalled but intrigued "Do you know who they keep in there?"

"Well not really, but rumour has it that there's a man in there that's supposedly obsessed with the mayor. Almost to an unhealthy level"

His eyes brightened, but dimmed once again at her next words

"But I think he was the previous editor of the newspaper..." she said thoughtfully.

They sat in silence for a while before she thought niceties were in order "You didn't give me your name"

"Oh, its Greg. Greg Mendell"

"Well, hello Greg, Greg Mendell. I'm Sadie, Sadie Miller"

They shook hands as Dr Whale walked in with a wheelchair

"Making friends are we?" he said as he moved over to her "X-ray's ready"

She struggled out of one chair and flopped into the other

"I thought it was only a sprain?" Greg asked

"I just want to make sure it's only that and nothing more serious" Whale answered

"Well, I'll see you later then" Greg said to her with a smile and a wave. She sent him a wave with a small smile of her own.

As soon as they were through the doors, she asked if David and Mary-Margaret were aware of her situation.

"They are. Ruby called them earlier"

That was all that was said on the matter.

* * *

The X-Ray proved that there were no broken bones, Dr Whale concluding that it was actually a serious sprain, but that she could actually leave the hospital. He marvelled at the fact that she hadn't reacted more when it happened and even more so when she said that she'd been walking on it, her own conclusion was that in the process of escaping Cora and Regina she didn't have time for pain.

Things were pretty easy from then on.

David came to pick her up and, even though she wasn't feeling any pain, Dr Whale gave her some medication just in case.

She didn't know then how much she would need it. And didn't know how much she would come to regret that decision later.

* * *

It was in the early hours of the morning.

Mary-Margaret had let her sleep at the Loft again after Watcher told her story of how Cora had got to her in the shop, everyone coming to the conclusion that;

_'Obviously if Cora could break through the, inevitable, defences of the shop, then she could break through the defences Gold had placed on the house'_ So nowhere was safe.

Watcher rolled over in bed and a shooting pain went through her leg. She'd twisted her leg wrong agitating her injury.

She gave a yell and within a matter of seconds, Mary-Margaret was in the room.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you." Watchers guilt was overflowing, what with the conversation with Rumplestiltskin and she hadn't told anyone about being related to Cora and Regina and now the simple act of accidentally waking Mary-Margaret.

"It's alright. I haven't really been sleeping since we learned that Cora was in town and I have a lot of things on my mind, because of that" she replied placidly.

She stared into Watchers face and her brows furrowed as a look of trepidation found its way into her eyes.

"I know that look, what's the matter?"

Watcher wondered if the guilt was really that evident "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course" Mary-Margaret helped her to sit up then sat down next to her and pulled her close with an arm over her shoulders.

"You're not gonna get mad at me are you?"

"Well that depends what it's all about"

"'Coz Gold got angry at me..."

Mary-Margaret paused momentarily "Why would Rumplestiltskin be mad at you?"

Watcher breathed out trying not to let her imagination think of the consequences.

"I knew Belle was gonna lose her memories..." she was met with only silence.

Mary-Margaret moved away to stand in front of her, looking appalled.

Watcher continued as quickly as she could.

"She was supposed to lose them the night she met me at the diner! But things have gone outta whack! The timing and the story aren't running the same! I couldn't have saved her even if I wanted to!"

with mouth open and arms folded across her chest, Mary-Margaret posed a question irrelevant to the conversation "How's your ankle?"

"I twisted it wrong while sleeping"

"You want the medication?"

Watcher figured it was a good idea and nodded, but she didn't expect her medication to be thrown toward her and for Mary-Margaret to stomp unceremoniously down the stairs, out of the room.

Watcher did something she wasn't used to after that, but had been doing for a while now.

She silently cried herself to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Enjoying the story so far? I hope so =)**

**R**

* * *

The next morning, Watcher came down to see Mary-Margaret and David. David making breakfast.  
No words were exchanged between them, but David did look between the two women confusedly, wondering about the silence.

Watcher exited the Loft and made her way, awkwardly, down the stairs and out the door.  
Standing on the street she wondered where she should go...if there was anywhere she could go.  
She made her way to Granny's. She needed to talk to someone, maybe Ruby knew someone.

"I never could keep you from getting hurt"

She looked over her shoulder to the voice of Regina.

"And obviously I still can't"

Regina approached Watcher smiling like a child at Christmas, but seemed to be stiff with cautiousness "I can heal that you know. You want me too?"

Watcher shook her head "I can manage myself thanks. I've been managing myself for ages now"

She started to hop down the sidewalk and Regina fell into step beside her.

"Where's out _'Dear Mother'_? I thought she'd be the one to talk to me"

"Our mother feels it's within her best interests to, remain out of sight"

Watcher scoffed "Was there a reason you were tailing me?"

Regina blinked down at her little sister "I wasn't tailing you. I had business I needed to attend to at the docks, I saw you and thought you might enjoy some company"

Regina stared out in front of her waiting for a reply, when none was given she continued "Besides, you look like you need to talk"

"I do, but, not to be rude, I don't want to talk to the person I want to talk about" Watcher stated imperturbably and forwardly.

Regina looked downtrodden, but only for a few moments and she replied with a simple _'Oh'_.

Regina stopped, but Watcher kept moving.  
Regina watched her sister hobble away and thought she could at least do one thing for her, before everything rolled downhill again.  
So waving her hand, a purple smoke wound its way around Watcher's ankle, healing it.

Watcher stopped and turned back to Regina "Um, thanks. I suppose"

"Not a problem" a genuine smile graced Regina's features and she felt her heart thump heavily in her chest.

"Uhh...the crutches. I kinda don't need them anymore..."

reality set back in and with another wave of her hand the crutches disappeared.  
Watcher gave her a wave and turned away again walking away quite happily, an unknown smile on her own face.  
Regina turned in the other direction and walked away, her magic curling around her in its coloured smoke and when it disappeared, so had she.

* * *

Watcher decided against going to Granny's and instead found herself walking a path next to the river.  
A cold mist hung in the air making light clouds out of her breath.

She stopped at out the front of a house, white with green shutters.  
In the yard was a patch of Snowbells and Watcher couldn't help but stare at the cute little flowers. She wished she had a camera.

As she stood staring an older woman wandered out of the house with a shovel and gloves. Neither of them noticing each other until the shovel was put down, Watcher not realizing she was that deep in thought.

"Oh! Hello" the woman smiled at her.

Watcher returned the smile "Hi. I was just admiring your flowers. They're so pretty"

Watcher didn't know a smile could widen that much "Well thank you. It's always nice to have a complement start your day"

She moved over to Watcher and held a hand out to her "Johanna Mayson"

Watcher gripped it gently but firmly "Watcher. Johanna...were you the maid to Snow Whites mother?"

Johanna looked at her dumfounded "How could you possibly know that?"

"I'm A Watcher; surely you've heard the rumours in town? Plus I'm friends with Mary-Margaret, or at least, I think I am. I don't think we're on good terms at the moment"

Johanna looked at her sadly "Well it won't last. You'll be friends again in no time"

Watcher faulted for a brief second before asking something she normally wouldn't

"I know we've just met and all but, do you think we could talk? I mean, I need someone to talk to and I don't really want to talk to Dr Hopper or Mary-Margaret..." she could feel the tears stinging at the back of her eyes.

Johanna gripped her arm and placed her other palm on her cheek "Dear child, of course! Come on, come inside and we'll have a nice cup of tea"

* * *

The inside was as cosy as the house looked on the outside, with comforting colours of browns, greens and blues.  
It looked kinda Grandmother-ish, but Watcher had never had a Grandmother so she wouldn't really know.

She'd been raised between carers, which was pretty much **Their** version of the foster system.  
All teenage Watchers eventually had different carers and mentors when they came of age to travel between dimensions, which was usually about the age of fifteen. But she'd been a special case...and she'd always thought she'd been abandoned by someone of The Home Dimension.  
She'd started travelling to other dimensions twelve years ago at the age of eleven.

Johanna entered with two steaming cups of tea on a tray, along with milk and sugar in the appropriate jug and bowl.  
Watcher filled her cup with milk and sugar to her liking and settled back into the chair in which was seated, curling her legs up underneath her and just staring into her cup.

Johanna took a sip of her tea, eyeing the young girl over the rim.  
She set down her cup again before she spoke.

"Now, tell me. What seems to be the problem?"

Watcher sat in silence for a few more seconds "In my line of work, Watchers are privy to information that can affect the outcome of a situation in any given story. There was a girl who accidentally crossed the town line a few nights ago, you may have heard..."

Johanna nodded as Watcher continued

"Her name was Belle. She was my friend...but I knew what was going to happen to her...and I couldn't do anything to stop it" Watcher stared down into her tea again.

Johanna took a breath "Why couldn't you stop it, dear one?"

"Well. It would've affected the story and I affected the story anyway by letting myself be found out. It was supposed to happen in the night the day she met me in Granny's...if that makes sense. But I changed everything and it happened later and I didn't know until the Sheriff told me it had"

"Well if you didn't know it had happened how were you to stop it?"

Watcher felt she had a point, but that didn't ease the guilt she felt. She came to the sudden realisation that she had read Johanna's name somewhere in the documents, but she couldn't remember where or under what circumstances.

"There's more..."

_'You're probably going to hate me later'_ Watcher almost didn't want to say.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Johanna nodded to her again

"I found out later that day that...Regina's my sister"

Johanna stiffened and a look of panic flitted through her eyes.  
Watcher knew that look, Mary-Margaret wore it, so did Emma, Watcher herself even had to practice in front of mirrors to perfect it.

She placed her cup down on the table and made to leave.

"I'm sorry for imposing. I'll leave"

And she did, but she made her way into the woods where she knew her mother and sister would be, looking for the Dark Ones Dagger.

* * *

When she reached their spot, she already found Regina digging and Cora standing by with her back to her.

As Watcher approached, she stepped on a root and slipped on the wet leaves that had settled on and around it; she squealed as she went down and wasn't surprised when she looked up and saw Cora holding a fire ball.

Regina chuckled at her misfortune.  
Watcher poked out her tongue at her sister and told her to _'Shut up'_.

Cora helped her up with a bit of magic "What're you doing here? How did you find us?"

"Watcher, remember"

"Unless you're here to help, I don't understand why you're here" Cora stated

"Can't I just hang out with my mother and sister?"

"No!"

"Yes!" Regina looked at her mother incredulously

"Besides, I think it's only fair you know that Hook is now on his way to New York"

Cora rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in exasperation "Of course he is"

She turned back to Regina and told her to keep digging. Ten minutes later they still hadn't found the Dagger, as Watcher knew they wouldn't.  
She seated herself in front of a tree stump and watched as her sister and mother moved to a new area to dig, as a bird took flight.  
Another five minutes and the Dagger was still nowhere to be found.

"And you're sure this is where we're supposed to did?" Cora questioned Regina.

Regina halted digging and sighed as she unfolded the map "Yes. Hook marked it clearly. Rumplestiltskin's Dagger is here!"  
She refolded the map and began to dig again, giving a grunt as she lifted a particularly heavy patch of dirt.

Cora then put forward an interesting idea "Unless Hook lied to us"

Regina stopped digging and sighed again "Well then, this map is useless. Gold is the only one who can translate it"

"Oh don't worry, sweetheart. Hook could've saved us a lot of effort with honesty, but the truth is we don't need anyone."

Regina and Watcher looked at her somewhat disappointed and wondering what was going to be said next.

"I can reconstruct the map. It'll just take a bit more time" Watcher could see the determination swelling in her sisters eyes as Cora spoke on

"And when we find it, I promise you, I'll use that dagger to force the Dark One to kill anyone you like" the smile on Cora's face and the evil glint in her eye sent chills down Watchers spine

_'Someone care to tell me why, I wanted to hang with them?'_

They magiced their way back to Regina's house and the first thing that Watcher said was; "I'm hungry, got anything good to eat?"

both women laughed lightly at the younger one and Regina led her to the kitchen.

"As it happens, I made apple turnovers this morning. I'll warm one up for you" she said to Watcher, a large toothy smile across her face.

"Sounds good" Watcher replied, looping an arm around Regina's waist.

Regina sent her a gentle look which went unnoticed by the young girl, but not by her mother.


	12. Chapter 12

After Mary-Margaret had seen Regina and Cora and heard their plan, she bid goodbye to Johanna and made her way quickly to the station.

She entered the station calling for her husband panicking when he didn't reply. She found him on the floor further in.

"David! David, David!"

As she shook him he came round "Oh! David? What happened?!"

David groaned and grunted as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Hook. He ambushed me"

Mary-Margaret helped him to his feet.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. It's not me he wants, it's Gold. And his hook"

He stated this as he noticed the main desk had been tampered with.

"Yeah, I'm gonna enjoy throwing his ass in jail!"

Mary-Margaret looked at him seriously "Hook isn't the problem David..."

"Tell that to my head" he shot back

"...It's Regina" she continued "She's been lying to us. She's working with Cora to find Gold's Dagger"

He looked at her in realisation

"The Dagger controls him! If Cora gets it, she can force Gold and all his power to do her bidding"

"Or" she put in "Become the Dark One herself!"

He stood with her.

"Neither one of those options sounds good. Lucky for us, we and call the man himself. He's with Emma"

"Tried it. I sent a message"

"Well, we can't just wait"

David looked at Mary-Margaret skeptically.

"No, we have to buy time until they call us back or return"

"How"

Mary-Margaret thought for a moment before stating something that was so obvious to her, she wondered why she hadn't thought of it earlier.

"Regina. She doesn't trust her mother, never has, if we can put some doubt in her about Cora's motives, it might slow them down"

"And you think she'll just trust you?"

"Well, she doesn't need to trust me. She just needs to listen to me. And I know how to get her to do that"

Mary-Margaret called Regina as soon as she got back to her Loft. It rung three times before an all familiar voice answered it

"Hello, Mills residence. How may I direct your call?"

Her brows furrowed as she paused in confused shock "Watcher? What are you doing at Regina's?"

The line went quiet

"Watcher! Don't you dare hang up on me! What are you doing over at Regina's?!"

She heard the young woman sigh over the line

"Regina wanted to talk, about Henry"

"What about Henry?" Mary-Margaret asked

"Just if she gets him back, if she gets to be his mother again"

* * *

Watcher stared at her sister as she entered.

"Just if she gets him back, if she gets to be his mother again"

Regina's eyes widened as she heard this looking desperately at her baby sister, begging her to say yes.

"Yes. She does. But not like you think and not for the reasons you think"

Regina could feel tears of happiness welling in her eyes as she gripped her sisters arm looking at her in disbelief, her smile returning.

Watcher handed the phone to her, snapping her out of her happy trance like state.

Taking the receiver from the others hand she held it to her ear and sent a cautious 'Hello' down the line.

"Regina. It's Mary-Margaret. Is Watcher right in saying that you just wanted to talk? About Henry?"

"Yes, that's true. I know what you said the other day, but I'm still legally his mother. I just wanted to know if there was a chance for me to still be in his life. Even though Emma's here"

The silence was almost deafening

"Okay, that's fine. But that's not the reason I called. In fact I didn't even know that Watcher was with you. Anyway, we need to talk. Could you please meet me at Granny's? Say at about eleven thirty?"

Regina stared at her sister, who only stared back shrugging and mouthing** _"What?"_**

"Fine. Eleven thirty"

She was about to hang up when Mary-Margaret shouted down the line at her.

"And Regina, bring Watcher with you"

Regina didn't answer her and hung up the phone.

"So what was that all about?"

Watcher and Regina turned to their mother who had appeared behind them.

"Snow White wants to talk" Regina stated

"Now?" asked Cora.

Regina looked at the clock, which read nine fifty-six.

"Later" she answered simply.

As Regina left, Watcher went to follow her, but was stopped by Cora.

"I'd like to have a little chat with you, daughter dear"

Cora gently pulled her back into the room and sat her down.

"As you probably already know, Regina and I are looking for the Dark Ones Dagger. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, But I think you know _**exactly**_ where the Dagger is, don't' you?"

Cora looked down her nose, expectantly, at Watcher.

"Even if I did, you know I can't tell you" came the reply.

Cora shook her head with feigned sadness "That's such a shame"

She held up her hand and curled her fingers in slowly.

Watcher felt her airways close as her mother magically suffocated her; she gripped at her throat as her vision blurred.  
She rolled onto the floor, begging her mother to stop, but could only do so through struggling gasps, each sounding more pathetic than the last.

Cora released her momentarily "That wasn't what I asked"

"Well it's not like I'm gonna tell you now!" Watcher spat.

"Don't be smart with me!"

Cora closed her fingers again and watched as the young one in front of her beat the ground "I'm you mother"

Watcher was silently hoping that Regina could hear her downstairs and as her vision began to blacken she heard a desperate, muffled cry of **"Mother!"** and felt the spell lift, breathing in deep like a fish in water.  
She couldn't hear the conversation Regina and Cora had but it must have been at least five minutes because that was as long as she was going to stick around.  
So she picked herself up as best she could and high tailed it out of there, half stumbling and half falling down the stairs to the front door, slamming it open and taking off down the block.

She found herself running down the same path she had taken that morning, ending up again in front of Johanna's little white house.

She allowed herself to break down, falling to the concrete in a fit of tears.

"Watcher?"

She turned to the sound of Johanna's voice and saw the older woman hurrying toward her. Johanna dropped to Watcher's side and pulled her into an embrace, letting the girl sob into her shoulder.

"Hush girl, hush. What's the matter? What's happened?" she petted Watchers hair as she cradled the young woman in the middle of the path.

"I think my mother just tried to kill me"

As Watcher broke down again, Johanna thought on how much of a witch Cora was.

"Now, why would she do that sweetheart?" She helped Watcher up off the ground, leading her to the house for a second time that day.

Watcher gulped back her tears and breathed deep, trying to regain her composure.

"She wanted me to tell her where the Dark Ones Dagger is. She got mad when I told her that I couldn't and she used her magic to choke me. I think Regina heard me hitting the floor and came to investigate, she got Cora to stop and I got out of there as quick as I could"

of course this was as intelligible as could possibly be considering the coughing and occasional sob that fell from the girls mouth.

And unfortunately, it reminded Johanna of similar circumstances involving young Snow White and Queen Eva, on this very same day many, many years ago.

Hours later, Watcher was still at Johanna's, the clock reading quarter past eleven. No one of importance had come looking for her and she was grateful for that.

* * *

Regina entered the Diner and made her way to where Mary-Margaret sat waiting for her, the first sentence dropping from her mouth being about her son.

"So how is Henry? Is he okay?"

"He's fine" the other replied "Everything's fine"

The sadness of not being able to be with him showed on Regina's face "What'd he say?"

Mary-Margaret felt a little guilt at not being able to tell her exactly. She could evidently see the love and pain in Regina's face.

"I didn't actually talk to him"

Regina sighed as she sat down "Then why am I here?"

her face changed as she stared hard at the younger woman.

"Watcher might tell you, if she were here. I thought I told you to bring her with you. Where is she?! What did you do?!"

Regina felt a pang of fear and hurt. Obviously they didn't know that Watcher was her sister and Mary-Margaret was clearly worried as much as Regina was, so Regina thought she ought to tell at least one truth to the birthday girl today.

"I didn't do anything! And I don't know where she is. Cora attacked her and she escaped"

"She's missing!" Mary-Margaret said loudly.

Some of the Diner residents looked their way and she swore she heard a growl from Ruby behind the counter.

"She's safe and unattainable, from either me or my mother! I thought you'd be happy!" Regina spat back.

Mary-Margaret faulted at the ferociousness in the Evil Queens voice, wondering why she looked so irritated and upset

"Now tell me, why am I here?!" Regina hissed through her teeth.

"Because I know you've been lying. And I thought it was time we talk about it" Mary-Margaret answered evenly.

Regina feigned unknowing "I don't know what you're talking about"

"No, no, no! No more lying!"

Regina looked at Mary-Margaret with something that was akin to being impressed.

"I know you've been with your mother. I know you're looking for the Dagger"

Regina could feel her monster rising "What I'm doing is my business"

"There's a war starting, Regina"

"That much is clear, yes" Regina replied

"Lucky for you, you've earned enough goodwill with me to give you one last chance"

Regina chuckled to herself at Mary-Margaret's words.

"Just to choose the right side, the side of good" the younger continued.

Regina almost rolled her eyes at the cheesiness of the chosen words.

"Have you ever considered that maybe, perhaps, I am good?" she sneered

"I was always the Queen it was you who added "Evil" to my name"

"Good doesn't do what you do" Mary-Margaret replied shaking her head before staring into Regina's eyes, who only smirked sadly back at her.

"Why? Regina, why go back to being this way after how hard you tried?"

"And what did it get me? Dinner with a bunch of hypocrites who pretend they'll forgive me"

Realisation overcame Mary-Margaret's face and softened her more so as Regina continued.

"When, in their hearts they know, they never will"

Mary-Margaret looked as if she'd been slapped but still stared at Regina with disappointment.

"You're giving me a chance? How 'bout I give you one? Stay out of my way"

Regina finished and with that she got up to leave, but Mary-Margaret wasn't going to let her get away without one last shot in the dark

"Listening to your mother is a mistake, Regina"

"Because listening to you will work out so much better" Regina rebutted.

"She doesn't care about Henry. All she wants is power"

Regina looked at her unable to believe that after all these years the younger woman in front of her still didn't get it.

"Power's how you get things"

Mary-Margaret then said something that hit like a stone from a slingshot "She doesn't care about you"

"Really?" Regina was going to throw her own stone "And what would you know about mothers?"

Mary-Margaret just stared after her as she left.

A thought crossed Regina's mind as the bell dinged above her.

_'Is that true? Does she only care about power, not me? Does that explain why she attacked my sister?'_

* * *

After her failed attempt to change Regina's mind, Mary-Margaret ran back to the station, quickly informing David of what had happened.  
They both decided to call on the Mother Superior for help and were on their way to the Nunnery in an instant.

As soon as they got there, Mary-Margaret jumped out of the truck and ran to the Mother Superior, who was rushing down the garden steps to meet them.

"Mother Superior! We need your help!"

"I know" the lady in blue answered "Something's wrong, I sense a great deal of dark magic has been expelled"

David decided to put in his two cents.

"That's why we're here. Cora and Regina are trying to find Gold's Dagger"

The terror of realisation on her face amplified their own fears.

"So they may control the Dark One?"

"We're hoping your magic will find the Dagger first" Mary-Margaret said.

The Mother Superior nodded in agreement

"Please, Mother Superior, you're our only hope"


	13. Chapter 13

Watcher still hadn't heard from anyone else she knew, but was still very thankful for it.

She figured she'd better leave Johanna's and head back to Rumplestiltskin's house; at least she may have some protection from her mother, if she got there.  
And if the protection at the house was stronger than the protection at the shop...if there had been protection on the shop...

"Johanna?"

She walked into the kitchen where the older woman was baking, a wonderful smell filling the small space.  
Watcher smiled at the memory of watching Regina bake during the short time she had spent at the house.

Her sister was very different compared to their mother, she didn't seem the one to choose to be evil, she seemed like the one who was pushed over its foreboding cliffs and was in a continuous state of falling and every time she manage to find something to cling to it would be cut away, letting her fall all over again.

Maybe if Regina let her, she could be something that could help her sister climb towards the better light, again.  
By the way Regina treated her, compared to how Cora did; it seemed that there was already a lot of love there.

"Yes dear?"

Johanna had just pulled out a tray of Muffins from the oven and Watcher saw the steam rising, her mouth salivating as she realized she hadn't had lunch.  
She moved over to the oven and turned it off for Johanna as the older woman pulled the last tray out of the oven.

"Oh, thank you dear. Oh! These old bones" her back cracked slightly as she straightened up.

"Sometimes you wonder when your next day will be your last"

"Don't say that! You've still got a few good millennia left on you!" Watcher said jokingly.

Johanna laughed with her.

"Thank you dear. A compliment at the start and a compliment to end it. It's been a good day today, I think"

The two stared at each other smiling before Watcher said what she was intending to;

"I was thinking of heading off. I'm staying at Rumplestiltskin's house. He's said that he's put up protection spells against Cora and Regina and I don't want to put you in way of harm"

"I'm a tough old bird! I can take Cora any day, just you watch me!"

Watcher laughed

"I don't doubt it" she said quietly.

"Well, if that's the case at least take two for the road" Johanna said holding the tray out the Watcher.

Watcher raised a brow at the others bossiness but smiled none the less and picked one from the tray. This place was beginning to, almost, feel like home.

As she reached for another, a plume of magical dark blue smoke wound its way around Johanna and she disappeared from sight.  
Watcher stared at the tray that had clattered to the floor, spilling its contents.

_'What's happened? What's happened?! Think Watcher! Think! Johanna – Eva's maid, Cora and Regina looking for Rumplestiltskin's Dagger in the woods...It's Mary-Margaret's birthday! Oh no!' _

"I forgot Mary-Margaret's birthday!"

With her muffin still in hand she bolted from the small kitchen and kept running, heading toward the Clock Tower in the centre of town, hoping to all gods above that she could make it in time to think of something to save Johanna's life.

* * *

**P.O.V Change**

* * *

Cora chuckled

"I think the day has finally come, my darling Snow, for you to learn a long overdue lesson"

She waved her hand and in a puff of blue smoke appeared Johanna.  
Mary-Margaret called her name in shock as Johanna stared at her in complete shock and confusion.

"You see, in the end, it isn't good or evil that wins, but power"

Johanna looked into Regina's eyes in fear as the taller woman stepped around in front of her.  
Regina plunged her hand into the elder woman's chest and pulled out her still beating heart, two screams were heard, Johanna's and Mary-Margaret's.

Regina turned to Mary-Margaret and David holding Johanna's heart.

"Your choice"

Three panicked eyes flitted about the room as the clock's minute hand ticked.

"Do not harm her. She has nothing to do with this" Mary-Margaret begged

"Of course she does!" said Cora, a little too chipper.

"Whatever they want Snow, don't give it to them!"

"Quiet Handmaid!"

David pulled his gun.

"Mother, watch out!"

Cora all but shooed it out of his hand letting it clatter down to the bottom of the tower.

"Leave me Snow"

Johanna groaned in pain as Regina's gripped tightened on her heart.

"Enough of this" Cora said sweetly

"Surrender the dagger. We all know you you'll follow your mother's example no matter the cost"

Mary-Margaret looked over to Cora in confusion when she said this.

"All she ever wanted was for you to be good"

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

* * *

Watcher had made it into town, but was still ages away from the Clock Tower.

She fell against the wall of a shop breathing hard.

_'I have to get there! But I need more time!'_

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

* * *

"Those words? Where did you hear those words?"

Mary-Margaret felt even more confused, but she was too high on adrenaline to be able to think properly.

"Where do you think?" Cora dared.

"The Blue Fairy made me swear never to speak of that candle again"

Mary-Margaret's mind was finally starting to function and had begun to piece things together.

"Not because it was a secret, because it wasn't her!"

Cora scrutinized her through half lidded eyes before holding out her hand

"The Dagger, dear?"

"She didn't give me that candle. You did" Mary-Margaret could feel her anger sparking.

Cora watched her unmoving as the younger woman came to a horror filled insight.

"My mother wasn't sick at all, was she?"

Johanna looked between them all as Cora chuckled.

"Oh, she was quite sick"

"You did all of this" Mary-Margaret hissed through gritted teeth.

"You killed my mother"

Regina looked toward her own mother slightly horrified herself, then she thought of Watcher, her baby sister, whom her own mother had tried to kill her only a few hours ago.  
If she thought she was any sort of a monster, she was nothing compared to the woman she now stared at with disgust and resentment, but she was too far down the rabbit hole to turn back now.

"Actually, the candle would've worked. You could've saved her"

Regina now looked over to the crying Snow White, trembling slightly.  
Remembering how she had looked exactly the same way when she thought she'd lost her sister. She kept her face a mask and said nothing as Mary-Margaret talked.

"But you knew I wouldn't. Why? Why did you take her from me?!"

Cora shrugged "To make my daughter the Queen"

They all went quiet as four sets of eyes landed on Cora in aversion and astonishment before Mary-Margaret let her eyes turn to Regina, who hid her pity and sympathies well.

"Hand over the Dagger" she stated.

"No. No, I will not let you win. Not Again!"

Regina couldn't help but think this was a poorly chosen time to grow a back bone, considering she now knew her mother would do anything unpredictable to get what she wanted, like she always had.

"You've already lost your mother" Cora stated.

She indicated to Johanna.

"How many connections to her do you have left? Not many, I'd wager"

"If we give up the dagger we can still win" Prince Charming really should've spoken up sooner

"Let me go, Snow! It's alright"

Regina started to crush the heart again

"What would she say if she could see you now? If she wasn't dead?" Cora held out her hand again

"The Dagger, dear"

Mary-Margaret finally broke, falling to her knees and throwing the dagger down.

"Enough!"

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

* * *

Watcher had finally reached the Tower but was at a loss at what to do next.

Thankfully there was no body, so maybe there was still a chance.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

* * *

In the Tower, Regina relinquished her grip on Johanna's heart and Cora summoned the Dagger into her hand.

"Such a good girl" she said with a sick smile.

Mary-Margaret looked between the Mills women "You have what you came for"

Cora looked expectantly at her daughter, small smiles playing on their faces and Regina replaced Johanna's heart.  
Mary-Margaret stood in relief and Johanna and herself reached for each other, but just as they came together, Cora had a thought.

"Not quite everything"

With a wave of her hand Johanna was sent through the glass of the clock face and down onto the pavement below, leaving a shaking Watcher staring at the sight as tears began to streak down her face.

In the Tower above Mary-Margaret and David rushed to the broken frame looking onto the scene below.  
Regina was just as shocked as they were at the sudden motion of her mother and, though she did not stand next to them, she too did her best to look down below and observed her sister rushing to kneel besides the now dead Johanna, shaking her in a desperate attempt to wake the other, only causing more distress for herself.

The pang of sickness she felt, obviously nothing compared to what Snow and Watcher were feeling.

"Well there you go" She said keeping pretences. She didn't want to follow Johanna.

"You see where good gets you?" she allowed her magic to engulf her and carry her down to her sister leaving a sobbing Snow White to be consoled by her Prince Charming.

Regina pulled her sister into her arms.

"Come on. Hey! It's gonna be alright"

She combed her fingers through Watchers short curls and held her close as she magiced her away to where their mother now waited, noting that this was going to be a very interesting family meeting.

As Regina entered her office, she held her sisters hand tightly, for fear she would disappear or run off like she had that morning.

She sighed in happiness.

"It's nice to be back. Hiding is quite wearisome"

Cora moved to the desk, placing the Dagger on the table top and taking a seat in the chair "I like what you've done with the place"

The two girls looked at their mother a little cautiously.

"I'm so happy you approve" Regina stated.

"What is my love? You're troubled"

_'And I'm not!' _Watcher thought, but she stayed quiet listening to her big sister and her mother converse.

"You never told me about your history with Snow's mother"

"I spared you that burden, like any good parent would do" Cora replied

"You didn't think I deserved to know exactly what it took for me to become Queen?"

"Now you know"

Regina thought for a moment.

"That day at the stables, when I rescued her, that wasn't an accident, was it? You made sure I'd be in the pastures when Snow rode past. You had to make sure, when I met Snow White...her father would be searching for a new queen"

Watcher had flashes of young Snow White on a runaway horse screaming for help.

"And what does this knowledge change for you?" Cora asked Regina, who chuckled before letting go of Watchers hand and sauntering over to the desk.

"That you won, mother" she leaned on the pair of chairs placed in front of the desk.

"I am the Queen. And if that's what you wanted so badly, why do you need Rumplestiltskin's Dagger now?"

"You're worried my interests are no longer aligned with yours"

"My only interest now is Henry" Regina shot at her mother.

"And I've told you, you'll have him"

"But how?"

The question was valid and Watcher could hear the desperation in Regina's voice, she missed her son.

"Now that Mary-Margaret and David know we have the Dagger, we can't use Gold to kill them without Henry finding out"

"Have patience, my love. By the time Rumplestiltskin returns, Emma Swan and the rest of them will be nothing more than a vaguely unpleasant memory. And Henry will be yours" Cora said whilst caressing the Dagger.

"But why did you have to kill Johanna? What did she have to do with all of this?"

Cora's gaze snapped to her youngest and Regina turned to look at Watchers tear stricken face, amazed at the way her pupils had dilated and all emotion was stripped from her eyes.  
Almost as if she was staring into a never ending abyss.

"Why?" repeated Cora "You want a reason?"

Watcher nodded, not moving from her place, her gaze never faltering. It was starting to be a little unnerving.

Cora stood, both hands on the desk.

"The reason...because I could. Because I wanted Snow White to suffer"

"You bitch!"

"Language! I am your mother!"

Cora waved her hand but went wide eyed as her spell rebounded pinning her against the window, although she didn't know it rebounded.

"Regina! What are you doing?!" Cora gasped.

Regina gaped like a fish "It isn't me mother!"

Regina looked to her sister and saw her glare darken.  
She saw Watcher blink and heard her mother slide up the window.

Watcher smirked like the Hatter at the fear that she awakened in her mother, fear that had long been suppressed.  
Regina turned back to her mother to see her centimetres from breaking her neck on the ceiling.

But in Cora's mind, the fear had been replaced, with inquisitiveness and pride.  
Never had she encountered someone with such strong power other than, maybe, Rumplestiltskin. But there was the chance that this young girl before her was even more powerful than the Imp. Where she got it from though, was a mystery.

Regina was dumbfounded, if a little fearful.  
To be able to blink and magically pick someone up of the floor and hold them in the air, even if they were pinned to a wall, showed massive strength and talent.  
It had taken almost a year for Regina herself to be able to do that and she was sure, so far, that Watcher had not shown any sort magical abilities since she'd been in Storybrooke, aside from when they had fought.

But she remembered her sister telling her Watchers had science that was akin to magic...maybe that was what was fuelling her power even more so.


	14. Chapter 14

**P.O.V. Change**

Mary-Margaret dusted the newly dug grave with a handful of dirt, as a way of paying her respects to the woman who had been a mother figure to her after her mother had died.

Her eyes stung with tears as she gazed at the Snow Bells that had been carefully planted.

She stood as David reached for her "It was a beautiful service"

"That never should've happened"

Mary-Margaret took a breath before continuing, trying to hold back more tears that threatened to fall.

"Johanna was an innocent"

"You can't blame yourself" David said quickly and sighed "You did the best you could do in an impossible situation"

"And yet Regina's family Mausoleum remains untouched" She answered absentmindedly.

David let his eyes flick between the Mills Mausoleum and his wife realising her train of thought couldn't be good.

"Mary-Margaret..."

"I've followed the same rule my entire life" she said, cutting him off.

She paused dramatically.

"Hold onto goodness. It's what my mother taught me. How many more lives is following that lesson going to take away from me?"

"You can't let Cora make you lose faith in who you are" he said, desperately trying to turn her mind away from the disaster that he assumed she was thinking of.

"Someone who does the right thing. You know, that's exactly what she wants"

"I made the _"Right"_ decision when I stopped Regina's execution all those years ago" Mary-Margaret stated not even breaking her gaze from the Mausoleum "When it could've saved us all of this heartache"

She allowed herself to look to her husband.

"I made the _"Right"_ decision when I sent Emma through the wardrobe alone, and we didn't see her first steps"

David looked away from her, his regrets for that particular fiasco surfacing.

"I made the **"Right"** decision" she continued "When I let my own mother die from Cora's poison"

David gripped at her desperately "And we keep beating them"

"At what cost? All I want is our happy ending. It's time" Mary-Margaret said decisively

"We've earned it. No more lives lost, no more hearts broken"

David realised he was fighting a losing battle.

"The Dagger, it's useless until Gold returns to Storybrooke. We have time, we'll get it back. And when we do, we can bring Cora and Regina to justice"

"I don't care about justice anymore"

She shook her head as she made her point "We keep thinking that people will change. What if that's wrong?"

She paused again "What if I'm the one who has to change?"

David could now see a dark glint in his wife's eye.

"Change how?"

There was no eye contact between them.

"I'm going to kill Cora" she said determinedly.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Hours later, night had fallen and Watcher had been confined to a room with minimal contact with either Cora or Regina. She didn't mind Regina, but she despised Cora.

There was a light knock on the door and it opened a little.

"Hi" Regina said gently "Can I come in?"

Watcher pulled open the door gently and smiled at her sister.

Regina handed a plate to her through the doorway, as Watcher went to take it from her she was zapped by the force field Cora had installed.  
This had already happened once before earlier, shards of glass and crockery in a bin.

This time though Regina kept a good grip on the plate and Watcher was finally able to have something to eat.

"You're gonna have to teach me how to bake this good" she said to Regina taking a bite of the apple muffin she'd been given.

"And no you may not come in. I don't want you being fizzled by that stupid force field!"

Regina smiled sadly and moved a hand between the door frame, only to pull back as she was shocked.

"Well what do you expect?" she stated cradling her stinging fingers "You did attack her. That reminds me, where did all that power come from?"

Regina looked seriously at her sister, but was shocked to see fear across her features. Watcher gulped before answering.

"I don't know. I was just so angry and hurt. I was with Johanna at her house, she was showing me how to bake muffins, when she just disappeared, it took a few seconds to realise what had happened. Mind you, I never thought I was that slow"

"That would explain why you had crumbs all over your jacket" Regina stated, feeling a little jealous that it hadn't be her teaching Watcher.

"Well, we're leaving for the night"

Regina waved her hand, turning the small nothing room into a small bedroom.

"Unfortunately you're gonna have to stay here over night"

"That's okay I guess" said Watcher "As long as you promise me something"

"And what's that?" Regina asked.

Watcher chuckled and grinned at her "You _**have**_ to teach me how you do that!"

Regina laughed with her smiling sister, wishing for more times like these.  
Then she realised, now that she was here, there would be times like these. And when she got Henry back, they could be a real family.

* * *

Watcher fell asleep fifteen minutes after Regina left and woke up the next morning feeling refreshed.

But her heart still ached.

**_'You shouldn't be feeling so sad sweetheart, I'm in a better place'_**

She moved to the window to look out onto the morning Storybrooke, she placed her palm against the glass.

"I've taken so many lives and watched so many be taken. It's hard to believe that there can be something better afterwards"

The little vision she was having of Johanna was reflecting in the glass.

"I feel like it's my fault. Like I could've done something more to stop it happening"

**_'There was nothing you could do! What's done is done. If it was my time to go then that's just it. You shouldn't feel guilty for occurrences out of your control'_**

Watcher turned to the empty room "But all occurrences are within my control! I have pre knowledge at my fingertips and my training has taught me not to use it!"

**_'You may have the knowledge but that doesn't mean you can control every little thing' _**said the voice next to her.

"You're just my conscience right?"

**_'Yes, I am'_**

"Then tell me what to do now!"

Johanna's voice was silent for a moment.

**_'You're a smart girl. I'm sure you can figure out what you're supposed to do next...and what you're supposed to let happen. But I can tell you this. The one thing you need to do now, is get out of here'_**

Watcher looked over her shoulder out the window again.

"I think you're right"


	15. Chapter 15

**There's a lot of P.O.V changes in this one so don't let yourself get too confused.  
The changes were taken straight from the show (mainly for my sanity during the writing stage) so I will repeat what is said in the summary;**

**I Do Not own Once Upon A Time or it's Characters, I just own my OC (Watcher).**

**Another Musical chapter this is.**

**Enjoy it I hope you do.**

**R**

* * *

_**(Music: Bassnectar – Calling From Above (Edit))**_

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

David walked down the street talking to Mary-Margaret on the phone "Hey. I just talked to Emma..."

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

_"It's a bad wound, she says it's poison" _

Mary-Margaret twirled an apple in her hand, slightly reminiscing on her history.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

_"He can only cure it back here in Storybrooke"_

Regina and Cora listened in through a phone tap.

Watcher sat at her door with said door wide open.

**_"If you've got all this foreknowledge, now's the time to use it for the right reasons"_** Johanna Conscience told her as she thought on her escape route.

_"They're taking the ship home" _

_'So Hook's stuck in The NY with Tamara. Neil's on his way with the rest of them. Which means...'_

Mary-Margaret started to talk _"Well, let him know that they have the knife, okay?" _

Cora and Regina looked at each other.  
Cora with one hand crossed across her waist and the other leaning on the crossed one with her hand over her mouth, maybe still a little shocked considering she had never seen or heard an electronic speaker before.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Mary-Margaret stared at the apple in her hand "Who knows what that wicked woman would do"

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Cora knocked the speaker off Regina's desk quite effectively destroying the tap.

Regina realised too late and let her know with an annoyed **_"Mother!" _**

She moved around her desk to pick up the speaker and see if it could be fixed.

"I don't like what that enchanted box was saying. I'm not...I'm not wicked" Cora said almost sadly, but Watcher wasn't fooled

"Could've fooled me" she said so loudly.

Regina sighed closing her eyes, half expecting hell to break lose, but her mother remained calm and said nothing to her youngest daughter, but only stared at her sadly for a moment. Watcher not even regarding either of them.

Regina moved forward with the conversation

"It's not an enchanted box"

"It's a phone tap" Watcher finished for her.

Regina looked over to her sister sitting in her enchanted doorway, her smile hidden "Not funny"

Watcher held up her hand, positioning her fingers as if to say _'"A-Little-Bit"'_

"I don't care!" said Cora "What matters is , they've been warned. Rumplestiltskin's smart, and now he has time to think"

_'You only know he is coz you love him' _Watcher thought

"But he's injured" Regina put in.

Cora noticed something on the Dagger "More than injured, I'd say"

She picked up the Dagger "He's dying"

She showed a shocked Regina the Dagger.

"And when his name disappears, all of that power of his will just boil off into the air, and there will be no new Dark One"

Watcher mouthed along with her on these last few words.

Regina looked at her mother remaining as calm as possible "Okay, so we have to use him to get Henry back before he dies"

"Not in his condition. I don't wanna kill him faster. No, there are no other options. I have to stab him with this knife and take his power as my own. I have to become the Dark One. And-"

"Yippee for us" Watcher said sarcastically

"I am getting very tired of your attitude" Cora stated "And, frankly, it hurts me!"

"As if"

"The first thing I'm gonna do when I become that Dark One is fix that moth of yours!"

"Oh, bite me!"

Regina sighed and rubbed her temples as the two bickered.

"Why would I do that?" Cora said evenly "It would be awful"

"But it wouldn't be as bad as me biting both of you!" Regina shouted angrily.

The other two stared at her until Watcher turned away again and Cora said a small "Sorry dear. Anyway was I was saying - and with his power, there's nothing I wouldn't be able to do"

Regina's fear and recognition showed.

"But Henry's never going to forgive that" Regina said as she stood from her chair.

_'He definitely won't forgive it considering he's found out Gold's his Grandfather now'_ Watcher stated to herself.

She noticed Regina had walked around her desk to Cora.

"And the whole point of this is...wait, what is the point of this?"

Watcher chuckled to herself.

**_'She's only just figuring this out now?'_** Johanna Conscience said with a chuckle.

"Could've just asked me, but then where would be the fun in that?" said Watcher loudly.

"Smugness isn't a good look on you little sister!" Regina shot.

Watcher, chuckled for a third time and held up her hands in defeat.

"The point of all this mother?" she provided, Cora stepped toward Regina.

"To protect our family"

Regina looked at her mother skeptically "Or you gaining your power?"

Cora stared at Regina with a face that said she was thinking of an excuse, before she smiled and tried to sound convincing "Whatever power I gain is for us"

Watcher scoffed lightly as Cora continued.

"To protect you. To protect Henry. And yes to protect your sister"

Watchers eyebrows moved upward at that statement.

"If we lose this battle, we'll spend the rest of our short lives on our knees in front of them. And that, my love, is something I'll never do" she finished and she exited the mayor's office leaving Regina to look at Watcher confused and expectant.

Watcher kept eye contact for a moment.

She shrugged "What?"

Regina gave her an expectant look.

"Oh! That" Watcher pointed to the door "I don't think it's my place to say"

Regina sighed exasperatedly and threw up her hands then moved back around her desk to try and fix the speaker.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Emma and the N.Y gang had just docked at Storybrooke Wharf and David and Neil had help the struggling Rumplestiltskin to lean on the back of David's truck.

"Is Cora trying to control you with the Dagger?" David asked him.

"Well, you'd know if she was, because most of you would be dead by now" Gold said thoroughly annoyed. He didn't want to be bombarded with stupid questions as soon as he had gotten back, and he knew Cora would know about his condition by now, she was smart that way.

"Well then, we'll just have to take the fight to her before that can happen" Mary-Margaret said.

David sighed like he'd heard all this before "We will"

"And this time, we finish it"

"Mary-Margaret..." David tried

"David. She needs to be stopped. She needs to be killed. This is our family. We are going to protect it. And we need to save Watcher! Who knows what that woman is doing to her!"

"Of course we will" David said, but Mary-Margaret's previous statement and caught the attention of Rumplestiltskin and Emma.

"If Cora has Watcher we may have already lost" Emma said panicked.

"I agree. She may not intervene, but she could've told Cora anything" Rumplestiltskin strained.

"What d'you mean?" asked Henry. Gold sighed in pain as David pulled Mary-Margaret away to try and convince her not to taint her heart.

"The Watcher knew what would happen with Belle. And she didn't say or do anything to prevent it" nothing more was said about Watcher after that.

Emma approached Gold a minute later with a few blankets in hand "You okay?"

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Watcher was seated on the floor at her door, her sister on the other side in a comfy looking arm chair.

They had run out of things to talk about and were now sitting in awkward silence.  
They had had a lengthy conversation about Henry, Watcher had told her story and Regina had told Watcher what she knew about their childhood back in the Enchanted Forest.

Watcher stared at the door frame for a while before something came to mind "Hey, you said that I have magic right?"

"Yes..."

"How come I've never known about it until now?"

Regina took a moment to think "I can't really explain it, but it might have something to do with you crossing the town line into a place with magic"

"But I've been in other magical dimensions, and I haven't had any uh... problems, I guess" Watcher told her.

Regina thought again for another minute.

"Maybe, it wasn't the right kind of magic, from the right magical dimension"

That made sense to Watcher. Then something came to mind;

After her fight with Regina, she'd almost killed Mary-Margaret. But throughout that whole fight, something felt different, something felt wrong. It wasn't bloodlust, but it was definitely more powerful.  
It scared her more so because she couldn't remember anything toward the end until Mary-Margaret called her.

"Do you think you can teach me how to control it?" she asked her big sister.

Regina's face softened into a smile "Of course! What do you wanna learn first?"

"Well what do you suggest? You've been doing this longer than me"

Regina sat there for a moment before she got up and went to her desk. Opening a drawer, she pulled something out and sat back down in front of her sister.  
She showed Watcher a metal ball, nothing special really.

"I want you to move it. Now, usually what would happen is, I would put it under something and you would have to summon it to you. But seeing as I can't summon it out of your room, we'll have to settle for you moving it from one of my hands to the other"

"But if you wouldn't be able to summon it out, what makes you think I'd be able to move it from in here?"

Regina's smile never faltered "Because I have faith in you. And I saw what you did to mother"

_'That's good, 'coz I don't' remember it!'_

Watcher stared into her sister's eyes "So what do I do?"

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

"Invisible Chalk" said Gold.

Emma looked down at her empty fingers. Her mind expressly told her that she wasn't holding anything, but she could feel the solidity of it between her index and her thumb.

"Use it in the front doorway" Rumplestiltskin continued.

"Draw a line" he grunted at her "The rest of you? You might want to prepare for battle"

Emma left to do as she was told, David followed her out and Neil looked at his father before following David.

However as Mary-Margaret went to leave Gold called her back "Oh! Oh, wait, wait, please" she turned back to him.

"Can you get me a warmer blanket?" he pointed to a cabinet "from that cabinet"

Mary-Margaret moved to the cabinet, wanting to be out of this man's presence as soon as where she expected to find blankets, she found a candle.  
A black and white candle that could be lit at both ends.  
The same candle that Cora, disguised as the Blue Fairy, had given her as a child when her mother was dying.  
A special candle that could give life back to someone who was dying, by sacrificing anothers.

She held it in her open palm as she turned back to Rumplestiltskin, who observed her in silence, awaiting the inevitable flow of questions to begin.

"Why do you have this?"

he breathed in heavily as his hand shook on his cane "For a rainy day"

They stared each other down, Mary-Margaret almost in tears as her memories awoke, yet again, like a daemon from hell.

Meanwhile, at the front of the shop, Emma kneeled down at the door to draw the invisible line in the doorway.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Regina and Cora had left Watcher on her own.

According to her sister, it had taken her months to be able to summon something hidden from view, within a few hours Watcher had movement down pat and could summon things to her quite easily after that.  
Regina was extremely impressed...and a little jealous, but she wasn't going to say that out loud. And she obviously thought Watcher hadn't been able to tell.

Watcher had also had a lengthy argument with her mother about her plan, telling her that she hadn't thought it through completely and that she couldn't perceive the consequences.  
Cora only told her that she'd perceive them when they reared their ugly heads, that her plan was fool proof and that she could handle it all...seeing as she was the powerful one in this situation.

At that precise moment, Watcher was trying to summon something.

There was a small puff of silvery purple smoke and her device sat on the table in front of her. She squealed with joy, something she didn't really, usually, do.

_'This thing is never leaving me again!'_

Next thing she attempted was the bag she'd left at Rumplestiltskin's house, it took a half an hour but it ended up being successful, her sister would be green with envy when she found out.

She recalled those specific words _'green with envy'_ when she remembered future events.

She pulled on a jacket and pulled out the remote headphones, stuck her device in her pocket and moved to the door.

"Now to try something more difficult"

**_"Good luck dear"_**

She moved her hands up in front of her, palms facing to the doorway and her mother's spell. She closed her eyes and concentrated, felling her mother's power radiate back to her, a slight tingle and hum to it.  
With her mind, and magic, she pushed. Hoping to break the spell.

She struggled, for about a minute until she was forcefully thrown to the floor sliding about a meter away.  
She stood up and tried again, only to have the same results, but she was determined to get through.

**_"Remember what your sister said. Magic is derived from emotion. Remember when you fought Regina? What were you feeling when you used your magic on Cora?"_**

"I was determined to protect my friends when I fought my sister and I was angry at Cora for killing you and hurting them" Watcher said

**_"Then get angry. Or use your determination and strength. Use your smarts"_**

_'Get angry, huh? Remember the fight. I cant's use the Nanos, they'd be fried on impact. That force field is designed to keep things in' _

"What if I were to weaken it whilst I tried to break through? But how would I go about that?" she looked around the room, there were a number of dishes and smaller things that could be thrown, but that might get messy...it was worth a shot.

She picked up a number of things and started throwing them at the doorway, letting her frustrations and anger fuel her. Sparks and shards flew everywhere.

She remembered what Mary-Margaret and the others had told her about Cora and her sister, she remembered the feeling to survive when she had fought Regina, her fearlessness, she remembered the sickness she felt when Cora told her that she was her mother and the anger she felt later when Cora had choked her, she wanted to protect them all, even her sister, from Cora.

Nothing happened.

No matter how hard she tried to remember and grasp her emotions she couldn't shift the force field.  
She threw the last thing screaming, then moved to wall and slid to the floor. She put her headphones on and flicked on a song from her device.

**(Music Start)**

She looked over to the doorway again.

"No. It won't end this way"

She was more than determined to break free, she would not be a bird in a cage!

Clearing her mind she leaned her head against the wall resting her arms on her bent knees, palms facing up.  
Closing her eyes she thought to herself _'Why am I doing this?' _

She breathed deeply a few times keeping her mind clear and at the same time, willing the force field to break.

She saw a closed door in her mind's eye, she understood now. She needed to will the door to open, or at least a figment of it.

There was a low rumble and the shards and things around her started to rattle and shake.  
Her hands slowly moved beside her, palms to the floor, as a light tingling reached her fingers.

There was a creaking and cracking, but she dare not open her eyes for fear of losing the moment.  
She also heard what sounded like something sparking over near the doorway.  
She felt a pulse of magic move out away from her and, in her mind, she saw the force field dissipate and the door blast open.

She opened her eyes and looked toward the doorway.

The frame had broken and bent at all angles, and her eyes traced downward, noting that the cracks and breaks in the floor lead back to her.

_'It looks like something was trying to break through the floor! And did so through the door!'_

_S_he didn't linger on that thought and proceeded to pick herself up off the floor and dash to the doorway, carefully stepping through and doing a little victory dance at her success.

She changed her song and ran, she knew where she needed to go and hoped she wasn't too late.


	16. Chapter 16

**P.O.V. Change**

Mary-Margaret had snuck out while everyone had been distracted and was now on her way to Regina's Family Mausoleum to retrieve Cora's heart, to curse it with the candle.

If she got this right, she could finally have revenge for her mother and get rid of a major threat. She would be killing two birds with one stone.

She threw herself against the door and was overjoyed when it opened easy, there was no spell to stop her from entering.

_'If I'd known that earlier I may have just crushed the heart then'_

No spell showed sloppiness.

Mary-Margaret searched for the entrance to the Vault, lifting urns and pushing at stones in the wall.  
She sighed looking to the floor in discouragement and noticed that the dirt had been shifted. She pushed against the crypt which slid away to reveal a hidden staircase.

She was down into the vault in a matter of seconds looking left and right thinking _'If I were a heart, where would I hide?'_

Looking to her left she saw, through an archway, numerous cases and trunks_.  
_She sighed to herself throwing down her hat and scarf on a trunk.

_'It's a good place to start I suppose'_

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

_ 'No matter what's she's done to me, she's still my mother! I don't want her to die!' _

She saw Henry and Ruby.

"Henry! You're back! Where's the grave yard?" She yelled as she approached them but she didn't slow down.

He pointed in a direction "That way. Why?"

"I'm gonna do something I might regret later!" she shouted over her shoulder as she ran in the direction he pointed.

_'I'll definitely regret it when Regina finds out I broke the floor!'_

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

David awoke on the cement outside Gold's shop gasping and groaning he sat up, his first instinct to call his daughter, who was trapped in the shop with Neil and Gold with Cora nipping at their heels.

She answered with a quick "David?"

"Are you safe?"

"For now. I've got the spell up in the back room!"

He picked himself up, voice straining as he did so as he was still sore from being thrown from the shop "Is Mary-Margaret okay?"

"She's not with you?" Emma asked him confused

"No. Where the hell is she?"

* * *

**P.O.V Change**

She heard it. In one of the standing trunks. A soft thumping...a heartbeat.

She opened the case and found some small boxes, one was glowing a pulsing red. The heartbeat was evident now.

She pulled the little box out by its handle carefully and placed it on top of one of the other trunks, unlatching it and opening the lid.  
There sat Cora's heart, glowing bright and beating, as if it had never spent a day out of her body.

She closed the lid, mentally preparing herself for what she had to do, breathing heavily and evenly through her nose before she threw the lid open again.

She lit the candle Rumplestiltskin had given her, at both ends, and allowed the hot wax to drip over the heart.  
She whispered Cora's name over the top of the candle and it's flames.

She whispered the name again, the magic of the candle making her voice echo through the Vault and then abruptly blew out the candles flames.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

"I don't think I've ever run so much in my life!" Watcher said aloud to herself

**_"Keep going! You're almost there!"_** Johanna Conscience shouted to her as she ran past

"That's easy for you to say! You're a ghost!"

**_"Technically, I'm you"_**

_'I'll have to remember to deadpan later' _Watcher noted.

She rounded a corner and fell flat on her face.

_'Why am I always doing that?'_

She rolled onto her butt and picked herself up, stumbling at the stinging sensation in her ankle. She sat down on the side of the path she was on, rolling her ankle

"Damn it Regina. You did a **_great_** job of healing it!" she yelled at the sky.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Back at the shop, Cora was still trying to get through Emma's force field.

Behind the force field Gold was slowly dying with Emma and his son watching over him.

Neil lowered his sword.

"It's getting weaker" he said, referring to the force field.

He turned to Emma "She's gonna get through"

"Maybe it's for the best" Rumplestiltskin said from the couch, monitoring his breathing, trying to reduce his pain.

"At least this cursed power will pass from this world"

"No. No, you're not dying" Neil told him.

"I am dying. That much is certain. I need to talk to Belle" he breathed labouredly, addressing Emma.

"Emma, please" he held out his hand, silently asking for her phone.

"Who's Belle?" Neil asked.

"Your dad's girlfriend" Emma answered.

Neil eyed her disbelievingly, then turned his questioning gaze to his father as he watched him speak to this, Belle.

"Hello Belle. It's Gold" there was a pause as Belle answered him

"I...I...I know, I know. It's just uh..." he exhaled heavily trying to think of what to say next...and trying not to die over the phone.

"Sweetheart, I'm dying" he paused again.

"I know that you're confused about who you are. So I'm gonna tell you"

Tears began to gather in his lashes "You are a hero who helped your people. You're a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man. Really, really loved me. You find goodness in others, and when it's not there, you create it. You make me wanna go back. Back to the best version of me. That never happened before"

Neil was now starting to tear up. The sound of his father's deathbed confessions stabbing him with guilt in a place in his heart he had long closed off. A place where he thought he could never feel or trust again.  
He listened silently as Rumplestiltskin, his papa, continued to praise the woman who had brought him back from the darkest depths of his soul.

"So when you look in the mirror and you don't know who you are...that's who you are" Gold's tears fell freely.

It felt almost alien, having not felt and done so properly in centuries. But that was what Belle done to him, she made him feel...she made him the man he was...that man he wanted to be again, but now wouldn't get the chance.

"Thank you, Belle" he whispered into the phone, and then hung up angry, tired and ready to admit defeat.

_'Maybe I have been here for too long. Maybe now, it's time to sleep.'_

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Regina stepped carefully down the stairs into the vault, looking around before her eyes landed on Snow...with Cora's heart in hand.  
They gasped in surprise as they saw each other.

"You have no right to be here" said Regina threateningly.

"And you have no right to that!" she yelled.

Mary-Margaret looked her dead in the eye, mind moving quickly to formulate a plan.

"I was going to give it to you" she said finally.

"What?" Regina questioned, confused and shocked.

Snow moved forward with her words "She can't love you, you know. She doesn't have her heart. With it, maybe she can"

Regina processed her words.

"That's why you've never felt she loved you. She doesn't have her heart, But I do"

Regina looked at her suspiciously "You're doing this for me?"

"Think about it. What would happen if Cora had her heart back? Back inside her?" Mary-Margaret insisted.

"She told me she took it out to protect herself"

"And did it work? The person she was before, do you think that person survived?" Mary-Margaret shook her head to insist on her point

"She can't love, so she can't love you"

Her words sank in to Regina's skull. She could actually see the logic.  
Snow White could see a sad, lonely hurt little girl, but she didn't believe it for a second.

Regina shook her head.

"She always wanted the best for me" she insisted.

Her voice broke as she said her next words "That's love!"

"Imagine real love" Mary-Margaret whispered dramatically.

"You'd have a mother, and a start on making a family Henry could be could be part of"

Regina thought on that, her desperation for Henry overcame her mind, senses and thoughts. Like a consumption.

Mary-Margaret looked down at the box in her hand "Or, you could have her be the Dark One"

She looked back up to Regina holding out the box to her "The choice is yours"

Regina stared at her hard, then the box...and reached for it


	17. Chapter 17

**Another musical chapter. Enjoy.**

**R**

* * *

**Music:**

**State Of Grace (Instrumental) - Taylor Swift **

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

The stinging sensation had passed and Watcher had gotten her breath back, now she was up and running again.

_'Maybe I took a wrong turn? This seems longer than it did in the visuals' _

She stopped again looking around her, her eyes reflecting the panic she was feeling.  
She ran back down the way she came for a bit.

_'I'm lost'_

She turned back around; Johanna Conscience was standing in the middle of the road.

"Did you do this? Did you lead me to get lost?"

Johanna just looked at her saying nothing.

"Are you really my conscience? Or are you an aggravated spirit that's haunting me to make me feel guilty?"

Johanna shook her head **_"I'm not angry and I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. As I said before, I am you. I am your conscience. And if I know, then you most definitely know what happens...and that you must let it happen. She may be your mother, but there is nothing you can do child"_**

* * *

**(Music Start)**

* * *

"You think there's nothing I can do, huh? Well, just watch me!" she ran in the opposite direction.

"If I know, then you definitely know that the future isn't set in stone, rules are made to be broken! A story can be changed!"

**_"Where are you going?!" _**

"To the place where it all ends!"

**"And where's that?"**

Johanna's voice had changed, but without slowing down Watcher called over her shoulder "I don't have time for you! Come and find me when it's all over Greggson!"

She heard cursing behind her. Obviously Greggson had thought she hadn't realised it was him. But she wasn't stupid.

She made her way back along the path as speedily as she could and when she hit the Storybrooke limits, she made a beeline for Gold's Shop, but she made her way along the backside's of the shops, as to enter from the back rather than the front. That was where everything was going down, that was where her mother died.

She scrambled up and over a fence and then again as she flew through someone's backyard, she also thought she saw a kennel with Pongo written across the front.

She could see the end of the line of buildings approaching.  
She almost skidded past the door, but managed to stop in time and successfully avoid slipping on the damp ground.

* * *

**(Music End)**

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

_(Minutes Before)_

There was a squishing sound as Regina place her mother's heart back in her body, Cora reeling backwards with a gurgling gasp and dropping the Dagger, letting it fall to the floor where Rumplestiltskin would pick it up moments later.

Still gasping and clutching at her chest, Cora stared at her daughter wide eyed, who stared at her concerned and almost tearful.  
Upon seeing Regina's face she exhaled and smiled a genuine smile, one that had not graced her features in decades, feeling foreign and at the same time homely.

Regina stared at her mother with lit eyes, her tense shoulders relaxing as she laughed happily 'Mother' her heart soaring with relief and joy.  
Cora laughed happily at the sight of her daughter, before gasping in pain, her face contorted in anguish.

Regina quickly realised something was wrong.

Cora lifted the long collar of her coat, revealing a bloody, poison yellow wound over her heart that had certainly not been there before.  
That Rumplestiltskin had been wearing on his skin moments ago. He now took to his feet as Cora fell to the ground.

Regina caught her half way.

"Mother? Oh!"

If Regina had looked at the Dagger, she would've seen Rumplestiltskin's name reappear, bold as anything, on the Dagger's blade.

"Mother?" she said through breaking tears

"What's wrong?"

She could only cradle her mother as the previous light in her eyes began to fade.

Cora breathed labouredly.

"This would've been enough" she told her daughter weakly.

Tears fell from two sets of eyes "You...you would've been enough"

Her eyes closed and her head fell back.

"Mother?" Regina called softly.

Her voice broke as she turned to the now standing Rumplestiltskin.

"What's going on?"

She turned back to her dead mother, sobbing loudly "Mother! Don't leave me, please"

She shook Cora's lifeless body desperately and crying heavily.

"What am I gonna do?" she whispered to the room.

"Your mother did you no favours"

"Shut up! You stole her life! You cast some spell" Regina stated accusingly.

"I did nothing" he told her calmly.

Regina stared at her mother's face as something came to mind.

"Regina! Stop!" Mary-Margaret and David ran in, coming to an abrupt halt when their eyes took in the scene.

Regina looked up to Mary-Margaret, A dangerous look in her eyes "You did this"

Mary-Margaret stared on in shock, tears threatening to fall.

There was a deafening bang as the door behind Gold flew open, a new set of grey-blue eyes falling on the scene.  
A small whimper of 'Momma?' reached the ears of those in the room and every face turned to Watcher standing in the doorway.

Watcher threw herself into the room and to the other side of her mother's body, cradling her face.

No tears fell from her as she looked to Regina, who only smoothed her baby sister's hair down.  
They shared a silent moment, then Watcher pressed her forehead to her mother's.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't save you and I'm so sorry"

Regina ran her fingers through Watchers hair again before pulling her close and kissing her temple.  
In a cloud of purple smoke the two vanished along with the body of their mother.

The three left in the room stared at the spot where Regina and Watcher had once been.

Mary-Margaret then spoke an observation "Did she just say 'momma'?"


	18. Chapter 18

**The continuation of a musical chapter...with another musical chapter.**

**Enjoy.**

**R**

* * *

**Music - Safe &amp; Sound - Taylor Swift**

* * *

Watcher and Regina appeared in The Vault. In a room with an empty coffin situated in the middle of it.

With Regina's help, Cora's body settled into the coffin.

**(Music Start)**

Regina pulled Watcher up off the floor, holding her close by the waist and wiping away her own tears. Watcher chose a song from the Harb and allowed it's sound to fill the silent space.

They stood there for what felt like hours before Watcher asked Regina a question.

"Do you think we should say something? Or place some flowers or something?"

With a wave of her hand, Regina conjured two roses, each with a different coloured ribbon tied to it. Both moved forward and gently placed the roses on their mother's body.  
Stepping back, Regina pulled her sister as close as possible, for fear that, if she let her go or even looked away, she would disappear all over again and she would once again be left with no-one she could call family.  
Watcher stood silent, no tears fell. Her face was unmoving and stoic as her big sister sobbed into her hair.

_'Mental note: Wash hair later'_

"Well, well. It looks like it happened anyway. So much for trying to stop it"

The two Mills girls turned to the sound of the voice.

"Who the hell are you?!" Regina hissed.

Watcher held her sister back.

"Have some respect Greggson. This is a family funeral, there were no invitations sent. Especially to you"

Greggson appeared from the shadows.

"Trying to be menacing are we Greggy?" Watcher teased.

Greggson raised one of his dark brows, his hazel eyes flashing "And what would you know about funerals? You caused so many in your time, but you've never attended one. You wouldn't cry even if you wanted to. And to that, what would you know about family?! You've been thrown in and around so many care homes –"

"Well she has family now!" Regina shouted at him.

Watcher indicated for her to be quiet, but kept her eyes on this new threat.

"I've never had someone to cry for. But I do now and when that finally hits me...you don't wanna be on the bad side of the break down Greggson. If it hadn't been for you misleading me, I would have got there in time to save her-"

"You know there was no way to save her" he laughed.

"-I would've tried. I would've found a way and things would've been different!"

"You know the story has to stay on track. If it was written, it was going to happen. There was no changing that!"

"I would've tried!" she shouted.

They stared each other down for a moment. He scoffed and turned away.

"You broke the rules Watcher"

"You act as if I don't know" she stated.

"Then you know what needs to be done"

She moved forward to him placing a knife against the back of his neck.

"You know I'd take more pleasure watching you go about in a chair for the rest of your life"

They both breathed in and out for a few seconds before she gave him a valid answer.

"Fine. But not today. Today, show a little respect, and leave" she hissed in his ear.

He growled lowly "I do love it when you get feisty"

He walked away from her and back into the shadows "Until tomorrow dear sweetheart" Watcher felt his presence wane and her Nanos retreated.

She felt Regina place a hand on her shoulder and rolled into her sister's embrace.

"Who was that?"

The question was quiet and filled with nervous tension.

"No-one you need to worry about. He's not taking me anywhere. I'm not going anywhere"

Regina rolled her eyes "I didn't ask that"

"You didn't have to. You're as open as a book to me"

Regina cocked a brow "Really?"

"Your lip twitches when you lie" Watcher stated, matching her sisters expression.

**(End Music)**

* * *

Watcher stayed with her sister that night, she didn't feel she had a place with Mary-Margaret, David or Emma now. No doubt the two fairytale parents would tell their daughter what had happened in the back of Gold's shop.

Herself and Regina had a wonderful dinner of tomato free pasta followed by a magnificent apple pie and butterscotch ice-cream. They both sat in silence whilst eating, but the conversation picked up after dinner.

"I've just realised" started Regina

"You should be so much more older than you are now. Since you weren't involved in the curse and weren't under mothers protection spell. How is that possible?"

"It's quite simple really. Time moves so slow in the Watcher Dimension and every story moves at a different time. But, just like you, we don't have any time travel. Like I said, Time moves so slow. Like, really, really, really...slow"

Regina looked intrigued "How slow?"

"Well here, probably..."

Watcher observed the clock on the wall, calculating the time dimensions.

"Five minutes to Eight months...give or take a few weeks. So five minutes there would be to about eight months here in Storybrooke. It'd be different in the Enchanted Forrest though" she said casually.

Regina looked at her wide eyed and brows raised, her face saying what she was to dumbfounded to say, Watcher nodded at her.

"Seriously. By the way, why don't I look like you or mum? Do I look like dad?"

Regina shook herself from her shock "Uh, well you don't look like daddy, he had brown eyes and hair like mother and I. But, mother did show me a picture of her mother, our grandmother, and you look alot like her. Darker hair, but you have the same eyes"

She smiled, remembering that conversation she'd had with Cora at the beginning of the week.

"If I find that picture, I'll show you" her smile widened.

It was Regina's turn to look at the clock.

"It's getting late. You can sleep in the guest room. It'll probably, very quickly, turn into your room"

Watcher smirked "If that's alright with you. I plan on staying after all"

Her smirk quickly faltered.

"Just don't throw me out when you go into work tomorrow" she stated, hurrying up the stairs.

Regina stared after her blankly "What does that mean?"

"Is it the same room I was in before?"

"What d'you mean?! Sis!"

"It was an accident! Don't hurt me!" Watcher called down the hall.

"What did you do?!" Regina advanced up the stairs after her sister as a door slammed closed, but nothing could keep the small smile from her face.

* * *

Regina returned to her mother's grave the following morning, alone. Allowing her sister the time she felt she needed to figure things out on her own.  
She could sense Watcher was more put out about losing what little friends she had made during her time in Storybrooke than she was about losing her mother. After all, she never really knew Cora to call her mother.

So, with a few tears leaking through her lashes, Regina placed another rose atop her mother's casket, sniffling to herself. She didn't hear Gold approaching.

"Black always was your colour"

She looked up to him in alarm "I'm here to bury my mother. So if you've come to gloat..."

"I came to pay my respects" he told her, showing her the rose he brought with him and placing it so it crossed her own on the coffins lid.

"We had our differences, but Cora will always have a place in my heart"

She stared at him through her peripherals "You killed her to save your own life"

"Sadly, desperate times call for desperate measures"

"Like getting Mary-Margaret to trick me into killing my own mother? You may be able to hide behind your Dagger, but she can't" at her own words, she almost felt pity for poor Snow White...almost.

"She's going to die for what she did"

"Oh, come on" Rumplestiltskin breathed.

"We both know killing her will cost you the thing you want most" he stated obviously.

Regina looked away from him to Cora's final resting place.

He tried another tactic "Why don't you just give up this obsession with vengeance? You know it can never make you happy"

"Yes it will" Regina told him, her tone strong and bold, certainly not the tone of the sobbing woman he had seen minutes ago.

"You had a whole curse worth of vengeance and what did it get you? A gaping hole in your heart. One I doubt your little sister or Henry will be able to fill"

"Don't you dare bring them into this!" she affirmed low and dangerously.

"That was your curse"

"Which you cast. Still haven't learned your lesson, have you?" he insisted.

She turned to him cynically "What lesson?"

"The same one your mother learned a long time ago. You can't have everything. She wanted power, ripped out her own heart to get it" he motioned to his heat to make his point.

"You want vengeance? Henry's the price you'll pay. And maybe Watcher too. Time to cut your losses"

Regina looked at her feet, but started to shake her head.

"Never. I will have my son. I will have my vengeance. And I will **not** lose my sister again! I will find a way to have everything"

Rumplestiltskin turned to leave "Oh. Before I forget"

There was a puff of brown-green smoke next to Regina as he summoned Watcher's Violin. Of course she didn't know what it was.

"Would you mind giving that to your sister. I don't want it hanging round my shop" he then left completely, the rhythmic step of him and cane fading through the underground tunnels of The Vault.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Meanwhile, in Mary-Margaret's Loft. Emma, David and her son sat having breakfast, wondering what to do about a very depressed Mary-Margaret, who was curled up under the covers of her bed.

"Anything?" Emma asked David as he passed her with a bowl in his hand, one that was meant for Mary-Margaret.

"She won't eat a bite"

"What's wrong with her?" Henry asked as he looked at his young grandmother.

"Nothing. She's just a little sick" Emma told him in attempt to ease his worry.

David and her glanced at each other trying to convince themselves of just that as Henry looked between them unconvinced.

"You guys are lying to me, aren't you?"

"No one's lying" said Emma gently.

"You are. Just like you did about my dad" he leaned into Emma as he said this, and she was reminded of Regina somewhat, she placed a hand on his shoulder

"Henry, I..."

Henry flinched away from her and David looked up from where he'd busied himself with the dishes to his daughter yet again.

"He's right. No more lying" Emma told him.

"Emma..."

"He deserves to know"

David sighed in defeat, thinking to himself _'You can only shield them for so long'_

"Here's the thing, Henry. Cora's death, Mary-Margaret was partially responsible for it. And that's why she's so upset"

"No. No, she couldn't"

There was a knock on the door and David moved to answer it as Emma continued.

"She was trying to protect us"

"But she's Snow White. She wouldn't hurt anybody"

"There's also something else you should know" Emma said.

Henry looked from his grandmother back to his mother, waiting for her to carry on.

"Watcher...is Regina's sister, and this bit of information has made Mary-Margaret even sadder than she already is. I wasn't sure how to tell you, but I guess now is better than later"

Henry stared at her incredulously as David screamed "Get out!"

"I think you're gonna wanna hear what I have to say. For her sake" Rumplestiltskin said, indicating in Mary-Margaret's general direction.

"What are you talking about?"

Emma and Henry were now on their feet, making their way to the door.

"Regina. She's planning to strike back against your mother"

Emma pulled Henry close and held him back when he tried to move forward.

"What is she gonna do to her?"

"Well she didn't say"

"What about Watcher?" Henry asked him.

Rumplestiltskin looked at him confused, then saddened.

"What about Watcher?" he repeated back.

"No" David interrupted.

"You don't get to come in here and just drop a bomb like that. You're gonna figure this out. And you're gonna help us" David's eyes were alight with the fires of determination.

"And why should I?" Gold shot at him, daring for an answer.

"Because, aside from us being family now, Mary-Margaret saved your life"

He observed Rumplestiltskin looking over to Mary-Margaret unhappily.

"Now you owe her a debt" David stated, also unhappy with the circumstances.

"And you always pay your debts, don't you? You're gonna help us stop Regina"


	19. Chapter 19

**I've only now picked on some shocking spelling mistakes throughout some chapters.  
This is due to Microsoft Word not picking up on them for some reason. Even after the spell check has gone through the document.**

**If you do see any really annoying spelling mistakes, please let me know and I will change them.  
****But just be aware, I'm Aussie so we use British spelling (colour as opposed to color) **

**Names would also be spelt a specific way (obviously) **

**This is also another musical chapter.**

**Thanks and enjoy the chapter.**

**R**

* * *

**(Music: Milky Chance – Stolen Dance)**

* * *

Watcher had woken up later than she'd intended, but figured it was alright all the same, seeing as she didn't have any plans.

She dressed in black, noted that it was very slimming, and pulled a jacket from the closet.  
A black one of course, that she had bought from a store when she was still on good terms with Mary-Margaret.

It had a hood that had rabbit ears attached, with red tartan on what would be the inside of the ear and a tartan coloured pocket on the front. It also had a rabbit tail at the back, mitts attached to the sleeve that folded over, made to look like paws, and a large tartan heart on the left shoulder blade.

She remembered the look Mary-Margaret had given her when she'd shown it to her;

**_"It's certainly...interesting"_**_ Mary-Margaret said with a friendly smile. _

_Watcher put it on to show her and Mary-Margaret couldn't help but think it suited her, personality wise, and that it was cute on._

Watcher threw on the jacket as she entered the kitchen.  
She grabbed an apple from the pile and vaguely wondered if her sister worked with other branches of the apple tree, stupid comment intended. Meaning did she use apples other than the Red Delicious. Stating to herself that she preferred the Pink Lady to any other.

She pulled some cash from the wallet Regina had given her, picked up the spare key and exited the house.

She finished the apple and threw the core away as she entered the main town.  
She wasn't sure what she was doing there, it was just where her feet had taken her.

She noticed a few people giving her looks.

_'They know'_

She entered the Diner for unknown reasons and sat down at the end of the counter. The room became silent as people realised it was her. She watched as Granny approached her.

"You're not welcome here" she told Watcher simply, if a little forcefully.

"It's nice to know I won't be judge based on my family heritage" Watcher stated calmly.

"I just want a soda. Is that a major crime?"

She placed some money down in front of the old woman.

"I can't guarantee it won't be spat in" she said casually to Watcher as she walked to the other end of the bar.

"If I pay extra can you guarantee it?" Watcher put some extra down in good faith but was disheartened by Granny's reply.

"Nope"

She looked sadly at the old woman at the other end, who paid no mind to her, before getting up and moving to leave, but not before Leroy had his say.

"Hey! Watcher! Don't go to Sneezy's Pharmacy. You do and you'll be sorry"

Watcher rolled her eyes thinking _'What makes you think I'll listen to you'_

The bell dinged as she left. Granny eyed the money left on the bar before picking it up and pocketing it.

* * *

Watcher didn't heed Leroy's advice and wandered to The Dark Star Pharmacy.

She caught sight of Archie and Pongo the Dalmatian out for a walk on the other side of the street.  
Pongo tried to make his way to her but Archie pulled him back and kept walking, it was saddening to know that even Jiminy Cricket didn't want anything to do with her, and he was supposed to be the voice of reason!

She entered the Pharmacy and grabbed a can and some sweets off their shelves.

She passed the small card section and stopped before she reached the register, backtracking.  
She stood back and let her eyes scan the small selection of cards.

"Do you need a hand?"

she looked up to see Sneezy Dwarf.

"Uh, yeah sure, why not. Um...I've recently had a falling out with a friend and some really bad things were said by both of us. So I need something that says 'I'm sorry and I forgive you' and I don't wanna do too much writing, because then I might stuff it up"

He gave a loud sneeze just as she finished.

"Bless you"

"Thank you. Now, I'm not sure I have anything that says exactly that, but..." he too scanned the cards and pulled one forward to show her. It was white with a single yellow flower on the front, opening it up; it simply said 'I'm sorry'.

"Perfect. Thank you"

"You're very welcome, were you getting those as well?"

she nodded and moved to the counter with him, pulling out the remainder of her money.

"Could I borrow a pen? I'll write this up now if it's alright"

He sneezed and placed a pen in front of her as he wrung up her items on the register.

She ended up spending ten minutes in the Pharmacy, and was glad that Sneezy didn't seem to mind as he went about his business.  
When she was finished, she lay the card in its envelope and thanked him again before she left, making her way to Mary-Margaret's Loft.

She made her way to the door quietly, holding the card close to her heart as if wanting to imprint her heartbeat into the envelope itself.  
Then bending down she slid it under the door and took off running down the stairs.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

_(20 minutes later)_

Regina made her way, determinedly, up the stairs to the Loft.

With a wave of her hand the door unlocked and opened wide.  
She made her way in coming to a stop at the base of the stairs when she eyed Mary-Margaret sat in her bed, she looked up to where Regina stood, ready for what was coming to her as Regina removed a glove and made her way to the bed.

"Nice try, dearie" said Rumplestiltskin as he stepped out in front of Regina, making her gasp and stop dead.

"Did you really think it was gonna be that easy?"

Regina shook her head slightly and addressed Mary-Margaret "He can't be your guard dog forever"

Mary-Margaret looked up to her as Gold scoffed and smirked.  
With a final look to Rumplestiltskin Regina made her exit, trampling over an envelope lying in near the door.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Watcher was at a loss as to where she should go, she had nowhere to go other than Regina's and she didn't want to be cooped inside all day.  
She was standing out front of Mary-Margaret's building debating whether or not she should go back in and this time, knock the door.

She saw her sister walk out and make her way to her car. Watcher thought against going upstairs at that second.

If her sister had just come out of Mary-Margaret's, no doubt something bad would happen to Watcher if she turned up at the door after.  
So she decided to do something she'd been meaning to do for a while.

She made her way back to the house to pick up some things and then started toward the Mausoleum.

"Hopefully they'll be safe down here" Watcher told herself.

"but I have to hide them well, Greggson might look for them down here"

She stood at the bottom of the stairs, noting that Regina had thrown a tantrum when she saw boxes open and things from them had been thrown haphazardly to the floor.  
Even a dress had been ripped from a hanger and torn to pieces.

"She's takin' things tough then"

Getting back to what she was there for, she looked around her sisters few items for potion making and found a dagger.

Using the dagger she spent a good forty-five minutes loosening a brick from a wall, and then another half hour hollowing out the space behind for storage.  
Then emptying a small box, she placed her treasure in the box and the box into the hiding space, and then replaced the brick.

She then turned to the mess that had been left by her sister and herself.  
It took her another hour to fix the space.

When she was done she leaned against the wall staring down the hall to the mirror at the other end.

She approached the mirror staring down her reflection. She touched her face lightly letting her fingertips trace her cheek bones and gave a breathy smirk.

"I have mum's bone structure. And Regina and I have the same scar" she laughed lightly.

She straightened up and made her exit.

* * *

She was walking down the road back into town when someone ran by her, bumping into her.

She stumbled, but recognized the back of a dark head of hair.

She felt her pockets for her Harb and realised it was gone. Ever since it had gone missing before, it was an automatic pick up on the way out of her room, it never left her.

"Oi! Get back here!" she gave chase, knowing full well who this joker was.

And she'd dealt with worse when she knew the Joker! She skidded into town still giving chase, determined not to lose him.  
If she lost him, she lost her Harb and she was duck meat without it.

"I'm gonna kill you Greggson! Give it back!"

He came to a stop in the middle of the street and swung round to greet her.

"Hello Dear Sweetheart. How can I help you?" he said, breathing hard.

"You can stop with the sarcastic sweets and give back what you stole" she hissed through gritted teeth, breathing equally as hard.

He held it up to show her.

"What this? Why not come and take it from me" he dared.

Watcher gave a short laugh "Obviously you don't realise I'm my mother's daughter"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he said unmoved.

Watcher held out her hand flat and watched as her device disappeared from his hands in a puff of smoke and reappeared in hers. She replaced it in her pocket.

"Well, if you could do that, why did you chase me? Still have a soft spot of me eh?"

"I was bored. And as usual, you were the clown that could entertaining me"

He laughed loud and sarcastically, catching the attention of the people around them.

"Well if I'm supposed to entertain you, then let me entertain you!" he pulled up his hand and aimed a gun in her direction, she ducked out of the way behind the bumper of a conveniently parked car. And watched as other people scattered around her.

There were a few gunshots and then Greggson was screaming at her again.

"Have you 'settled' since you 'retired'? Oh, I forgot. You don't retire from being A Watcher, you die on duty"

There were a few more shots before he spoke again, his voice closer than previously.

"Why are you hiding? I've never known you to hide; you were always first into battle and last to leave. Everyone feared you. So, what? Now you fear me?"

"As if!" she shot back.

"Why would I be afraid a worm? By the way, I find worms disgusting"

There were a few more frantic shots.

"There was always one problem with you!" she screamed getting his attention.

"And what was that?" he was right over the top of her now and she looked up to see him.

She stood quickly and stepped onto the sidewalk "You were always too emotional"

**(Music Start)**

She took off running down the side walk. Glass flew around her and she hoped that people inside the shops weren't getting hurt.

"Come, come Dear Sweet. Let us dance together like we used to!"

"I'm not interested in doing any sort of twisted tango with you!"

She barrel rolled out into the street again and silently prayed for someone she knew who could protect her.  
She was tired of fighting, tired of running and hiding in shadows like she had been for years in her job, she did want to settle, she wanted to find somewhere to belong.  
She wanted Regina here to help her, or Emma, Mary-Margaret, David heck even Rumplestiltskin! She was not going to run from this place because of Greggson!

She spun and pulled her Nanos into action, spinning her Scythe in time for three of his bullets to ricochet off into the ground.

"Here she is Ladies and Gentlemen! The real Sweetheart! Though I find it interesting that you deflected them. You didn't use to care in which direction they flew" he stated casually.

She advanced on him, which threw him a little but he regained himself quickly and stood his ground.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you Greggson. But you hurt me first"

She spun and swung down bending at the knee, but he'd dodged away and met her weapon with a blade.  
She jumped back quickly wide eyed, catching his weapon and tossing it away.

"That's new" she stated.

"You like?" he said with a smirk.

"There's no point in being a flirt, it's not gonna work like before" she kicked him in the mouth to prove her point.

He stumbled back and fell onto his derriere.  
She straightened up and stabbed her weapon into the ground.

"You look good from this angle"

He was swiftly pulled, or pushed, away from her a few meters.  
She stood on the blunt inside part of the blade of her Scythe, her hand poised against her brow to shield the sun from her eyes.

"I'd say that's a good ten meters. Nicely done"

She looked over her shoulder expecting to see Regina, but was surprised to see Rumplestiltskin standing there, arm and fingers outstretched in Greggson's direction.

She smiled at him "Can you send him any further?"

Rumplestiltskin scoffed "I'm not doing this to entertain you! If you haven't noticed, your friend's shot up half the street!"

"He's not my friend, and you're not the one entertaining me"

Rumplestiltskin changed his hand gesture and Greggson was pulled back toward them quickly.

**(End Music)**

He was then lifted into the air in front of them.

Rumplestiltskin moved forward to stand beside Watcher.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"That's what you're gonna ask me?" Greggson replied arrogantly

"well I would tell him, but I probably wouldn't be as nice as you're gonna be" she absorbed her Nanos and rematerialised them into a baseball bat.

"You think that's gonna scare me?" he shot with raised brows.

She shrugged and sent the heavy end into his crotch.

He gave a pained cry.

"Not so proud now" she said with a tilt of her head.

"Now, now children. Play nice" Rumplestiltskin told her, though he would never admit to her that he was enjoying the show and that he probably would've been proud to call her his apprentice now, later, or even back in the Enchanted Forest.

"Now" Rumplestiltskin said to Greggson.

"You answer my question, or I let her off her leash" he pointed toward Watcher as he said this, she emulated the feigned offence that Rumplestiltskin had the day they met, which he gave a little laugh at.

Greggson groaned "I'm here because she stole something. And she broke rules"

"Because she stole something?" Rumplestiltskin clarified.

"No" said Greggson.

"She altered stories"

"How?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

"Killed some people I shouldn't have, saved some people I shouldn't have and had some people do things that they shouldn't have" Watcher answered for him.

Rumplestiltskin stared at her in awe "I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"

"Actually the people I killed were evil, so technically the people I saved were supposed to be killed by the people I killed"

"Oh. Well from my perspective that doesn't seem all so bad" Rumplestiltskin said turning back to Greggson.

"She's a thief!"

"She seems pretty good to me. So whatever it was she stole, for whatever reason, it seems a valid reason. Watcher dear, what's the best way to keep A Watcher from escaping?"

Watcher shrugged nonchalantly "Kill it"

"Right..."

Greggson looked scared now as he watched Rumplestiltskin's face contort in a sort of twisted glee.

"But Belle wouldn't like that" cut in Watcher.

Rumplestiltskin looked to her, she continued on "And I'm not gonna do it. I may be a Mills and A Watcher, but I've 'retired' from my job and I'm gonna change what you think of my family"

"Then what do you propose we do? He can't be allowed to wander around the town" he all but shouted at her.

She thought for a moment, "The day we met, to get me to Mary-Margaret's Loft you froze me. Is there a way for that to be done permanently?"

He shook his head "Nothing's permanent"

"Well we need to find something. Freeze him for now? While we figure something out?"

Rumplestiltskin stared at her a little longer but in the end nodded to her and dropped the other male.  
Greggson fell to his knees gasping for breath as Watcher approached him, kicking him in the chest and onto his back. She fished through his pockets and pulled out his Harb then back away next to Gold.

"What's that?" Rumplestiltskin asked her.

"it's his Harboror. He's harmless now, and he's not going anywhere any time soon...although he might break outta a cell"

Greggson made to get up but Rumplestiltskin waved his hand quickly and Greggson froze in place.

"I'll take it from here dearie" he told her and vanished away with Greggson, leaving Watcher standing in the middle of the street as if nothing had happened.


	20. Chapter 20

**P.O.V. Change**

**(30 minutes before)**

Mary-Margaret lay in her bed, paying no mind to the gun shots that rang through the street below.

Rumplestiltskin looked out the window next to her bed "Seems our friend Watcher has gotten herself into a spot of trouble"

Mary-Margaret said nothing, she didn't even look out the window.

"Would you like a play-by-play, Mary-Margaret?"

she still said nothing and turned over to face away from him. He sighed loudly and continued to look out the window.

"Come, come Dear Sweet. Let us dance together like we used to!" The voice was obnoxious with a tint of flirt thrown in.

"I'm not interested in doing any sort of twisted tango with you!" she heard Watcher shout back.

There was a clang of metal.

"Here she is Ladies and Gentlemen! The real Sweetheart! Though I find it interesting that you deflected them. You didn't use to care in which direction they flew"

Mary-Margaret was becoming slightly intrigued, but she didn't move from underneath her covers.

There was another clang of metal on metal and the sound of something being thrown somewhere, she didn't notice when Rumplestiltskin told her to stay and not let anyone in or when he puffed away onto the street.

She lay there in silence for another fifteen minutes, remembering and regretting everything that had happened over the past two weeks. She only succeeded in making herself feel sicker than she already felt.

There was a knock on the door, but she didn't feel like getting up to answer it.

There was a pause before the person knocked again, and another pause and another series of knocks.  
After the third pause the knocks came continuous and Mary-Margaret was forced to rise from her bed and answer it.

Her bare foot stepped on something in the middle of the floor, something papery, and wondered why it had gone un-noticed until now.

She looked and bent down to pick up an envelope, opening it as she walked to the door.  
It was a card. The prewritten wording in the card was a simple **_'I'm Sorry'_** but written underneath in carefully scrawled handwriting were the words **_'And I Forgive You'_**

She would admit she had no clue as to who sent it, she had to verify that it was sent to her, and she wondered what they were forgiving her for.

She opened the door to Watcher, standing in her cute bunny ear jacket looking ready to cry and suddenly everything made sense.

Mary-Margaret was the first to speak, her voice scratchy from being unused "Why are you sorry?"

Watcher looked down as she fidgeted under the other woman's gaze.

"For what my family's done. For making you mad. For not telling you when I found out Regina's my sister"

"And why do you forgive me?" Mary-Margaret asked her scrupulously.

"Because I'm not my sister or my mother"

They stared at each other, each mentally asking themselves if the other would react first. Mary-Margaret was the first to cave and threw her arms around the young one who grasped her desperately.

Mary-Margaret felt relief wash over her. She'd been worried about the girl since she'd seen Regina take her the day Johanna died, the thought of that day making tears spring to her eyes.  
Watcher lay her head on Mary-Margaret's and clung to her tighter.

"Watcher? What's wrong?" Watcher twitched as she breathed in "I've never cried. Not in front of anyone...at least I don't think I have"

Mary-Margaret rest a hand on Watcher's head and rest her head on Watchers, giving her a tight squeeze before leading her inside.

"Do you want to lie down?" Mary-Margaret asked her gently.

Watcher nodded "But only if you keep me company"

Mary-Margaret gave her the smallest of smiles and pulled the hood of Watcher's jacket up onto her head "Of course"

Watcher removed her shoes and lay down on the bed, Mary-Margaret sat at the end of the bed staring at the girl for a bit before taking to staring out the window.

Eventually she heard the even breathing that indicated Watcher had fallen asleep and she envied her, her own dreams being plagued by memories of what she had done.  
She looked back down at Watcher, wondering how this girl was able to forgive her so easily.  
She'd killed her Cora, her mother, and yet she wasn't angry. Whereas Regina was on the war path.

Rumplestiltskin then made a reappearance.  
He stopped abruptly when he saw Watcher, but Mary-Margaret gave an indication not to wake her and she held up the card she then realised she'd been holding the whole time.

He plucked it from her fingers and gave it a once over, then placed it on the night stand and moved away to make a call.  
He spoke quietly away from the two women but returned a few minutes later, still speaking, but she could tell the conversation was coming to an end.

"Okay" he hung up the phone and addressed Mary-Margaret.

"That was your husband. It seems that Henry convinced Regina to destroy the curse. Which means my services are no longer required. Anyway, you have a new watch dog, that sleeps on the job."

He stared down at Watcher momentarily before turning to leave.

"How do you do it?" Mary-Margaret asked him.

He stopped "Do what?"

"Live with yourself? Knowing all the bad things you've done"

He seemed to think for a second "Well, you tell yourself you did the right thing. And if you say it often enough, one day you might actually believe it"

He made his way to the door, leaving Mary-Margaret to ponder his words.

The inevitable conclusion was, you never did get over it. There was no way to live with yourself afterwards.

She looked out the window for ten minutes before getting off the bed, taking care not to wake the sleeping Watcher, threw on a coat and a pair of flats and left the Loft.

Fifteen minutes later she was at Regina's door knocking loudly.

Regina answered looking shocked and confused when she saw her standing there "You!"

Mary-Margaret approached her slowly, tears stinging her eyes.

"Kill me" she said plainly.

Regina stared at her then scoffed in confusion "What?"

Her face fell as she realised that this was serious.

"Regina, we have been fighting for so long. It's cost us so much, it has to end before anyone else dies. So, please, just do it!"

Regina nodded lightly in agreement and swallowed, Mary-Margaret held her arms out in defeat.

Regina smirked "Henry would never forgive me"

Mary-Margaret shook her head and lowered her arms, but Regina continued

"But d'you know what my problem is? I never learn from my mistakes"

Regina's hand plunged into Mary-Margaret's chest, the familiar squishing sound of a heart being removed reverberated through the air as well as Mary-Margaret's pained yell.

Regina pulled the heart from Mary-Margaret's chest forcefully and looking into it, gasped in surprise.  
Mary-Margaret stared at her thumping heart, now in The hands of The Evil Queen Regina.

"Huh"

A smile graced Regina's features, a look of satisfaction in her eye that Mary-Margaret had never seen before.

"What?" Mary-Margaret asked, her breath coming out in rasping pants and her tears finally falling from her eyes.

Regina looked her in the eye and turned the shining heart to face its owner.  
Buried in the centre of the red was a black spot. Regina pointed to the spot as it thumped along with the heart.

"Do you see that?"

"What did you do to it?"

"Oh, I didn't do that"

She feigned sadness and pointed to Mary-Margaret "You did it"

Mary-Margaret raised her eyes to look at Regina, desperation filling her face.

"You darkened yourself"

"No! No! No!" she didn't want to believe it, she shook her head rapidly not wanting to believe it.

"Yes. And once you blacken your heart, it only grows darker, and darker"

Genuine sadness flitted through Regina's eyes "Trust me, I know"

"So crush it. Do it, crush it. Get it over with." Mary-Margaret pleaded.

Regina did nothing but stare at her calmly before twisted glee erupted over her face "And put you out of your misery?"

More tears fell from Mary-Margaret.

"I don't need to destroy you. You're doing it to yourself. And along the way, you'll bring down that perfect little family you fought so hard to reunite. And then Henry will be mine"

"Please kill me" Mary-Margaret whispered desperately.

Regina smiled triumphantly as Mary-Margaret sobbed.

"Please, just kill me"

"You see? I can have everything" there was evident joy in Regina's words.

There was another squish and a gasp of pain as Regina replaced Mary-Margaret's heart.

Mary-Margaret leaned over Regina's arm, which was still in her chest, and Regina whispered to her "Thanks to you"

She then let go and removed her hand, her happiness fading and becoming disgust "Now, get off my porch!"

Mary-Margaret inhaled and grunted in pain as the door was slammed in her face.  
She stumbled away from the door and fell into the hedge trying to catch her breath as a car drove off quickly down the street.

She wondered if Cora had it right, by removing her heart. When Regina had been handling it just then, the pain and emotions that she had been feeling these past days had been lessened, and It didn't feel so bad.  
She had grown accustomed to not feeling during the few minutes her heart had not been in her body.  
So she wasn't appreciative with the wave of emotion that had come with the heart being put back.

* * *

She entered her Loft sadly, removed her coat and turned to the kitchen quickly when she heard noises.

"I knew you'd be back"

Watcher placed two mugs down on the island and poured boiling water from the kettle into each "How d'you take your tea?"

Watcher moved to the fridge as Mary-Margaret sat on one of the seats.

"By the way, you live"

Mary-Margaret stared at her in confusion "Huh?"

Watcher started adding sugar to her tea "You live, you move forward. That's how you live with yourself. You never forget and you never make the same mistake twice. Unless it's in your job description to kill"

Watcher said this last part in bitterness but Mary-Margaret understood what she was telling her.

"It's hot, but do drink it" Watcher said as she added milk to her own mug.

Mary-Margaret did as she was told, after blowing on for a few minutes, and felt her anxiety stricken nerves calm some.

"Did you just put eight teaspoons of sugar in your tea?" Mary-Margaret directed at Watcher, who only shrugged and replied cheekily

"Why do you think I'm so sweet?"

Mary-Margaret gave a short laugh and smiled at the girl, who smiled at her and continued to drink her tea in silence.


	21. Chapter 21

As soon as he'd seen her, Henry had tackled Watcher into a hug and declared he was never letting go of his Aunt.

Watcher, who had tea in her mouth, nearly did a spit take and gagged in shock.  
She'd never thought of it that way, but didn't consider it a bad thing, only stating that it would be something she would have to get used to.

Mary-Margaret smiled at the scene between her now Aunt and her Grandson, replying with "You're not the only one".

Watcher stayed for dinner, which she helped to cook, and was glad that she'd been accepted again after everything that had happened between them all.

Leroy had dropped by to talk to David about something and had noticed the card on the nightstand. He wasn't happy that Watcher had gone against his wishes, but he eventually forgave that, after Watcher guaranteed Sneezy's safety.

Watcher left shortly after that, declaring that Regina would probably have her head if she didn't go home.

As she stepped up onto the porch she smiled faintly at these new memories.

She entered the house and dropped the keys onto one of the tables near the wall.

"Where have you been all day?" Regina stood behind her, arms folded and about ready to blow her lid.

Watcher turned to her sister "Well, I went into town to the diner where I was formally told to piss off. Then wandered for a while, got some snacks from the pharmacy and a card for Mary-Margaret to apologise for **everything that's happened.** Went to the Mausoleum, then was almost killed by a crazy ex...friend from Watcher Town and then spent the rest of the day at Mary-Margaret's Loft"

Regina did not look happy "You said her name too many times for me to like that sentence. And why were you apologising?! We have nothing to be sorry for! She killed our mother!-"

"And It's blackened her heart, I know. But if you want Henry back you're going to have to let it slide. How many people have you killed to get to her!"

"That is not up for conversation!"

"Well it should be! She is my niece for god's sake!"

They glared at each other before Regina stomped to the stairs "Well if you like her so much you should go and live with her!"

she made her way up the stairs and Watcher made her way to the door slamming it behind her.

* * *

The moon was full and lit Watcher's path better than the street lamps did. She didn't go back to the Loft, and instead opted for the forest path that lead to the Toll Bridge.

It was dark, of course, but there was enough light filtering through the trees to show her the path.

She stopped by the river that flowed under the bridge, staring at the light that reflected and moved with the water.

_'I wonder if Mary-Margaret and Emma will let me stay with them again? Regina's gonna need a few weeks to cool off!'_

There was movement behind her and she peered over her shoulder into the shrubs, but she couldn't see anything so she turned back to the water.

_'I wonder what Rumplestiltskin did with Greggson?'_

There was more movement behind her and this time she turned completely, she stepped carefully toward where the sound had come from being sure to keep as quiet as possible.  
There was a snap of a twig and she looked down quickly thinking it had been her but there was only pebbles at her feet.

She pulled up her hood and slipped into the foliage.

Moving further in, she saw something ahead of her but it was gone in an instant.  
She moved to the place where she'd seen it but there was definitely nothing there.

There was a low growling to her left.

_'I thought there weren't any wolves here?'_

She didn't have time to react as she was knocked to the ground and something sharp and hot ripped her shoulder open, nearly tearing off her arm.  
She screamed loudly and threw her other arm up to protect her, punching whatever it was.  
It jumped away and she rolled onto her stomach to pick herself up but the sharpness dug into her hip and pulled her back. She rolled back onto her back and stared up into the face of an oversized wolf.

She couldn't feel her arm and she was losing felling in her leg, she was also beginning to blackout.

The wolf whined sadly and bolted away. Watcher didn't know much of the world after that.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

David, Emma and Mary-Margaret were settling down for the night when there was a scratching at the door.

Mary-Margaret was the one to investigate and when she opened the door found Ruby, in wolf form, sitting there whining sadly.

"Ruby? What're you doing here? What's wrong?"

Ruby leapt forward and grabbed Mary-Margaret's sleeping gown between her teeth pulling her out the door.

"Whoa! Ruby alright! You wanna take me somewhere?"

Ruby barked desperately and moved around behind Mary-Margaret gently nudging her out the door.

"Emma! David! I think we need to go out!"

Ruby barked again a few times.

Emma appeared behind her "What d'you mean?"

David appeared behind her, both looking at Mary-Margaret in confusion.

"I think something's happened"

Ruby barked again and moved back around Mary-Margaret and bolted down the stairs to the street.

David grabbed his keys and his coat and shut the door behind him as he followed his daughter and wife.

* * *

They followed Ruby into the forest, a sense of dread filling their bodies.

"Do you think someone's in trouble?" Emma voiced.

"Maybe. Just try to keep up with Ruby" David told her.

They followed her for a few minutes before Mary-Margaret told them that they were on the path to the Toll Bridge. Ruby bolted into the forest by the bridge and went in a little ways before she started barking madly.

David was the quickest of them and saw Ruby by a body.

"Over here!" he threw himself down onto his knees and moved the hood and hair back from the face muttering to himself at the amount of blood, he felt for a pulse and thankfully there was one, but it was faint and fading.

Mary-Margaret and Emma appeared behind him.

"Oh my god!"

"Watcher?!" Mary-Margaret moved around to the other side of the girl's body gently caressing her face, which was pale.

Watcher was shaking slightly under her fingertips as well. David gently pulled Watcher up and into his body to carry her and they all moved as carefully and as quickly as possible to hospital.

Emma told Ruby to go on ahead to the hospital, to get help to meet them halfway.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Victor Frankenstein certainly did not expect to be pulled out of his office by Ruby in wolf form, in fact she round up at least two other Nurses before she left the vicinity.

Eventually, they caught on to the fact the she was pushing them somewhere and eventually they saw David coming towards them with Emma and Mary-Margaret in tow.

"We need a gurney!" David shouted at them.

The other two broke away and ran as fast as they could back to the hospital. Dr Frankenstein fell into step beside them "What happened?!"

"We don't know. Ruby led us to her. She was like this when we found her"

Watcher was shaking more visibly now.

They could see the hospital now and could see the gurney coming towards them and David placed her on it as soon as it was close enough.

Being able to see her properly now Dr Frankenstein decided there was only one thing he could do "One of you run on ahead with me. Prep for emergency surgery"

**(Hours later)**

Frankenstein emerged from a successful surgery.

It had gotten a little hairy at one point when the girl had started convulsing uncontrollably but it was only for a few seconds and they were able to regain control of the situation.  
She hadn't lost as much blood as was first thought. It seemed those pesky little Nanos of hers came in handy.

It was daylight now, so maybe now he could get some answers.

He wandered out into the waiting room, those who had brought her in still waiting, Ruby now in human form.  
David, covered in blood, was holding his crying wife close to him. Ruby too, was crying and shaking.

"She's fine"

There was a collective sigh of relief, but Ruby didn't stop crying.

"We have her in an induced coma and are keeping her under observation, but she'll make a full recovery. Now, can anyone tell me what happened? Ruby?"

All eyes fell to Ruby, but she only hiccupped and cried harder.

"Ruby. They were bite marks. Did you attack her?"

They stared at her with shock and confusion.

"No. Ruby wouldn't attack her, she doesn't do that" said Mary-Margaret, Ruby sobbed and looked to Mary-Margaret sadly. Mary-Margaret started to shake her head in disbelief.

"I did" said Ruby quietly.

"But it was an accident! There was something there, in the woods, I was following it and she got in the way! I didn't mean to-"

she broke down into a fresh batch of tears.


	22. Chapter 22

**A short chapter here and another musical one.**

**Enjoy.**

**R**

* * *

**(Music: Avicii – Addicted to you)**

* * *

**P.O.V Change**

Henry sat by his young Aunts bed in the hospital holding her hand.

"You have to pull through" he whispered quietly.

"You have to help me with Operation Cobra"

"Maybe if you read to her, she'll come around" Emma said from the doorway.

"There's no point" he told his mother.

"She's not in the book. She doesn't have a story"

Emma moved into the room "Well she may not be in the book, but she certainly has a story. I was talking about a regular story, one from the library"

He turned to his mother with a questioning look "It's a good idea, but I wouldn't know what to read to her, I don't know what she likes. Maybe I should just stay here for a while"

Emma pet her son's head affectionately and placed a kiss in his hair.

"Alright then. You stay here and I'll go look something out"

There were another few minutes of silence before something strange started happening

_**(Music Start)**_

He looked around him to figure out where the music was coming from. It wasn't something he recognized.

Her fingers twitched and snapped closed around his hand.  
Her grip was tight and no matter how much he tried to pull away he couldn't.

There was a tingling sensation in the palm of his hand now and flashes of images appeared before his eyes, the memory of her voice echoing in his mind;

* * *

_Watcher made her way down the steps to the vault __**"Hopefully they'll be safe down here. But I have to hide them well"**__  
She was using a dagger to cut away at a brick in the wall __**"Greggson might look for them down here"**_

_An image of a young man with dark hair and hazel eyes flashed in sight before an image of Watcher replaced it, she was putting something in the wall and putting the brick back._

_There were gunshots and the dark haired guy, Greggson, was shouting __**"Have you 'settled' since you 'retired'? Oh, I forgot. You don't retire from being A Watcher, you die on duty"**_

_Greggson was hovering in the air in front of Rumplestiltskin and Watcher __**"I'm here because she stole something-"**_

_There was another flash of Watcher putting something into the wall._

**_"-she broke the rules-"_**

* * *

The visions ended there and a needle like sensation settled on the palm of his hand.

He gasped and groaned at the pain, then it just stopped and she let go.

He stared at his hand which was bright red and dotted with blood in a few places. He began to feel light headed and dizzy and before he knew it he was on the floor falling into unconsciousness.

_**(End Music)**_

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

The Blue Fairy walked through the hospital to The Watcher's room, she had yet to introduce herself to this prestigious character.  
But she was more than shocked to find Henry on the floor next to the bed, eye's closed and barely breathing.

"I need help! Quickly!"

A nurse rushed in and out sending a message over the speaker system as another nurse came in to help, the previous nurse reappearing with the instruments needed.

Blue moved away to let them perform their task as Dr Frankenstein rushed into the room.

They moved Henry onto a gurney and into another room, Blue following them.

"Mother Superior, can you tell me what happened?"

"I don't know. I walked in and he was there on the floor"

Dr Frankenstein did all the necessary checks and placed Henry on a respirator after he came to the conclusion that he was falling into a coma.

The nurses left the room but Dr Frankenstein stood with Blue.

"His palm on his left hand is red raw and bleeding slightly, do you have any idea how that could've happened?"

Blue shook her head "I just came to see this 'Watcher'"

"He was in Watcher's room when you found him?"

Blue nodded and they both made their way to Watcher's room.  
After searching for half an hour they still couldn't find anything. Blue moved towards the girl in the bed to look at her better.

"She's so young"

Dr Frankenstein, who was standing across from her, saw something on Watcher's right hand.

"What's that? On her hand"

Blue turned the young girls hand over, finding the same redness that was on Henry's.

"Well, I think we found what put Henry into coma. It's funny. We put Watcher into an induced coma and now Henry's in a coma. They have matching injuries on opposite hands. They could've been holding hands"

"Do you think Watcher did this to Henry?" Blue asked

"It's a possibility. But she's unconscious"

Dr Frankenstein checked her vital signs and confirmed that she was, indeed, still unconscious.

"Do you think they could be connected? Physically connected. There are spells that allow someone to connect a person to another or themselves" Blue told him.

"Would that explain their hands?"

"No. I've never seen a connection spell that's given injury to one person or the other. It would give a feeling of the other person being injured. Besides, the injuries on their hands are on opposite hands"

"So it's a connection that's like a copy but isn't" Frankenstein verified.

"It looks that way" said Blue

"Do you think someone else might've done this to them?"

It was a valid question, but not one Blue had an answer for.


	23. Chapter 23

**P.O.V. Change**

Days passed and Watcher and Henry were both still under coma.  
At Regina's request they now shared a room and were out of observation and breathing normally. Now all that was needed was to wait for them to wake.

Blue and Frankenstein had shown the others the injuries to Watcher and Henry's hands, explained what had happened and their hypothesis and still no one could pin point an idea as to what it was that had caused this.

Hopefully they would get some answers when they woke up.

Regina was seated in the room now.  
Eyes red from tears shed for days on end, praying that this would be the last day they would be unconscious. Her prayers were answered when Henry shot up in his bed, breathing heavily.

Regina jumped from her chair and held his shoulder "Henry!"

His gaze snapped to her "Mom? What happened?"

"You're alright now. You're safe"

Henry grunted in pain and held tightly to his shoulder. He screamed, and fell back into the bed screaming.

"Henry! Henry what's wrong?! Help! I need help!"

She hovered over her son, desperately trying to figure out what was wrong but she was pulled away out of the room by Frankenstein.

"What's happening?!"

Emma's voiced floated down the hall followed by David's "Regina! What did you do?!"

"Me! I did nothing! Do you think I would hurt my own son?!"

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Watcher was roused from her sleep by someone screaming.

_'Never a good thing to wake up to'_

She opened her eyes and looked beside her.  
Henry was pinned into his bed by two nurses and Frankenstein was examining Henry's left shoulder.

She sat up to get a better look and swore under her breath.

Henry's shoulder was red and slightly swollen, but what caught her attention was the newly formed swirling tattoo like feature that swelled around his shoulder.  
She was immediately on her feet and pushing the Doctor out of the way.

"Henry, look at me"

She held his face in her hands "It's gonna be okay"

She placed a hand on his shoulder and felt the Nanos calm under her cool touch.

"I need you to sit up, so I can see the extent of the damage"

He did as was told and Watcher noted that it was only around his left shoulder and shoulder blade and creeped up the back of his neck a little.  
She lifted the sleeves on her gown and found that the Nanos from her right shoulder and accidentally transferred into Henry. In its place was a large bandage.

She noticed Dr Frankenstein was holding her up.

"I need my Harb. The rectangular thing with the screen"

Frankenstein motioned for someone to get her effects.

She sat down next to Henry and pushed his hair back from his now sweating face.

"It's gonna be alright Henry"

"What's happening?!" Frankenstein whispered.

"It seems some of my Nanos have inadvertently transferred into Henry. The same reaction happened to me when I got them. He's going through the motions, so to speak. But I can settle them somewhat using my Harb"

The nurse returned with the Harb and Watcher took it quickly.  
She pressed some buttons that appeared on the screen and scanned it over Henry's body. His screams turned into heavy pants.

Watcher observed her sister and Henry's family staring in at the window.

"I'll stay with him. I know what's going on. I can look after him if anything else happens. Don't let them in" she ordered Frankenstein, pointing to the others staring in.

Frankenstein nodded at Watchers words and left with the other Nurses. The last person shutting the door behind them.

Watcher gently wiped Henry's head with the bed sheets and sat down on the bed next to him, stroking his hair.

"You okay now buddy?"

Henry nodded "What happened?"

"It seems I may have inadvertently transferred some of my Nanos into you" she pulled up the left sleeve of his gown to show him his new tattoo.

She lay down next to him, looping an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into her

"It shoulder be less painful now. If there's any more pain, just tell me"

"Why would they transfer to me in the first place?" he asked.

She breathed in and sighed it out "Nanos only transfer when A Watcher dying or is injured to the extent were the Nanos are damaged. When this happens they have to find a new host so they can repair themselves. Obviously I'm still here and you were the only logical choice at the time. The good thing about it now is that we're connected. At first it'll seem physical for example, if you fall and gash your knee, I'll get the gash too. We'll be able to control it soon enough"

"You said at first. What'll happen later?"

"Later, when we can control it, we'll be able to say...locate each other. We'll be able to see into the others memories and see what they see. So I'll always be able to find you" she explained to him.

He enjoyed the thought of someone always being able to find him, although he knew that his family would always look for him if he went missing.

Then he remembered the flashes of images that passed before his eyes.

"Before I passed out, there were images, flashes. You were in them and there was another person. There were voices too. You were hiding something. And some guy was screaming that you stole something"

Watcher looked down at her lap, a sad, guilty look flitting across her features, but it disappeared quickly and was replaced with a blank expression. "Did your mum ever tell you about how I know all the stuff I know?"

"She said you read it from some documents. Is that what you were hiding in the wall?"

Watcher nodded.

"I stole some different files from The Watcher Dimension and I brought them here with me to Storybrooke" Watcher admitted.

"The guy that you saw, his name is Greggson. He's an old acquaintance of mine. He was sent to retrieve the files and me. Rumplestiltskin has done something with him"

"What exactly are in those documents? They sound important if someone was sent after you"

"Nothing you need to worry about!" She stated forcefully.

Henry started at her voice but dropped the subject all the same.

* * *

Two days later and Henry was out of the hospital, but Watcher was kept for observation.

It was a Saturday and Henry waited until Emma and David had gone out on police work and Mary-Margaret had headed down to the hospital quickly to see Watcher. He was supposed to be on his way to Granny's but he was still inquisitive about the conversation he'd had with his young Aunt.

A lot had happened in two days. Mary-Margaret had headed out to the woods the morning Watcher was in hospital and found Pinocchio, entirely wooden, in a beat up caravan.  
And his dad's fiancé, Tamara, had come to Storybrooke.

Henry reached the Mills Mausoleum in record time and proceeded down into the Vault.

In the visions, he'd seen Watcher hide the documents in the wall. Behind her he'd seen the mirror that hung on the wall at the base of the hall. So he knew which wall, but now he needed to figure out which brick was hiding the treasure he sought.

She was taller than him, so he had to take that into consideration as well.

He pushed against the bricks that looked loose until one finally moved some. He had to find something to manoeuvre it out. Unfortunately finding nothing, he resulted to using his fingernails to get a grip and pull it out.  
It took some time but he eventually managed it with only a few scrapes to his fingers. He stood on tip toe to reach into the hole and draw out what he was looking for, a large manila envelope sealed with blue wax and an emblem.

The seal was already broken, but he could clearly see the decorative W embedded in the wax.

He looked around him, half expecting one of the Mills sisters to appear beside him.

He opened the envelope and pulled out the papers inside. His eyes quickly registered exactly what it was that he was holding.

_'Once Upon A Time...just like my book! But there's my name on the first page'_

He tore his eyes away from the page in front of him to share a terrified expression with his reflection.


	24. Chapter 24

**P.O.V. Change**

Watcher sat with Mary-Margaret by her side, playing a friendly game of cards.

"Gin!" Watcher placed down her cards.

"Another win for you. That makes...four in a row" Mary-Margaret said exasperatedly with a chuckle.

Watcher chuckled "Don't play against me at Poker"

"Noted. So, what exactly happened the night you were...injured?" Mary-Margaret asked, choosing her words carefully. She didn't want to say that Ruby had attacked the girl as it would imply forethought. And she still wanted to think it was an accident.

"I had this massive fight with Regina-" Watcher started

"About what?" Mary-Margaret asked quietly

Watcher gave her a sad but pointed look.  
Mary-Margaret 'Ahh'ed softly as realisation dawned. She was the reason. She was the problem that had started it all.

"Anyway, I went to the Toll Bridge to cool off and I heard something in the woods behind me. So naturally, I did the stupid thing and went to investigate. I saw something, but then it disappeared and then Ruby attacked"

Mary-Margaret looked at her quizzically "I thought you were this great fighter with all these...abilities? I mean, you had Regina running scared when you fought her! Why didn't you use them when Ruby attacked? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you didn't! But you didn't defend yourself at all?"

Watcher nodded on in agreement "I get what you're sayin' and the only reason I didn't defend myself was because it all just happened too quickly for me to comprehend. Ruby and I must've seen the same thing and when I wandered to where it'd been before it disappeared, Ruby must've been preparing to attack it, thinking that it was something dangerous. I was just collateral damage. I got in the way. I'll never hold that against her, because in my line of work...I've had the same experiences"

Mary-Margaret was relieved to hear that. Though not about 'same experiences'  
Regina had been seething when she heard what happened, so it was good to know that there was at least one person from the Mills family that was level headed enough to not throw a fit over every little thing.

A thought crossed her mind

_'Speaking of the Mills family'_

"There's nothing else...unusual, that you need to talk about? Anything that's happened over the past few weeks?"

Watcher looked at her strangely before looking away awkwardly.

"There is something" Mary-Margaret pushed "Well don't be afraid to tell me"

Watcher stayed quiet for a moment longer.

"Is magic a genetic thing?" she asked Mary-Margaret. The question was so soft that Mary-Margaret barely caught it

"Magic? Do you think you have magic?" She asked the girl in the bed.

"Well I know I have something and it's not what I'm used to!" Watcher told her.

"Does Regina know?"

"She does. She's started teaching me a bit, but I think I might need more help" Watcher stated sheepishly.

Mary-Margaret looked at her as only a mother would "Did you do something?"

Watcher shied away even more.

"What did you do?" Mary-Margaret pressed, a slim brow raised in expectance a playful smile dancing quickly across her features before Watcher turned back to her.

"I broke Regina's floor...and the door" Watcher said quietly "I didn't mean to, but Cora had barricaded me in and I needed to get out"

Mary-Margaret stared at her with shocked wide eyes "You broke Regina's floor and door? How do you mean broke?"

"I cracked the floor and broke the door frame. Like, literally, caused the door frame to break apart" she demonstrated this with her hands as best she could

"And you succeeded? You broke Cora's spell?" Mary-Margaret asked in wary disbelief.

"Yeah, but I put this down to no real practice. You know, breaking things. I can summon things though and move things. Regina showed me how to move things and after that it was pretty easy to summon stuff"

She made a ripe pear appear in her hand and presented it to Mary-Margaret.

Mary-Margaret carefully took the pear from the other girls hand and looked it over, dumbfounded.

"You know...being from the Mills family, I did expect you to have some sort of powers" she admitted finally.

"I sorta guessed that" Watcher said offhandedly with a grin.

It grew quiet for a few minutes after that.

"I've just had a thought" Watcher said suddenly.

"A dangerous thing that" Mary-Margaret teased.

Watcher gave her a look Regina would be proud of, but gave a dry laugh all the same.

"Seriously though. Ruby bit me in her Wolf form, does that mean I'm a Werewolf now?" she asked

Mary-Margaret started at the question, no one had thought of that. Was it a possibility?

"That's a very good question. I don't know. Maybe I should call Granny, she would definitely know"

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Henry decided that instead of reading forward, he would read backwards and see exactly what Watcher knew.

So far, everything had pretty much played out as it was supposed to. As it was, she was just another player in the game, an extra character. But the fact that she had all this information scared him. It made him realise the power she actually had...over everyone.  
She knew all their secrets. She knew what they would say and do next. She knew how to defeat them all.

There had been other documents in the envelope too. Ones on people who weren't from Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest.  
He didn't understand why they were there, but they were there.

He felt he'd read enough and put the documents back in the envelope and the envelope back behind the brick.

He was upset. He felt betrayed.

He pondered everything as he trudged back home to Emma.

The sky above threatening to cry down upon him and emulate what he felt inside.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Mary-Margaret had contacted Granny, who was now standing in the doorway staring disapprovingly at Watcher, who shrunk down under the covers trying to disappear.

"I hadn't realised we were forgiving Mills women" Granny stated

"She's not like that" Mary-Margaret told her.

"She's good. She's my friend" she insisted

Granny sniffed "If you say so. But don't expect me to be thinking that anytime soon"

Granny made her way further into the room.

"Now. What are you wanting with me? I've left Ruby in charge, but she's been a mess since the other night. I don't know why, she won't tell me"

Mary-Margaret and Watcher gave each other a wide eyed glance

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea" Watcher stated softly.

"I don't make it a habit of making house calls for no reason" Granny stated roughly "Now what were you wanting me for?"

Mary-Margaret moved around the bed to Watcher's side and helped to manoeuvre the younger woman's arm and sleeve so Granny could examine it.  
The old woman placed her glasses on her nose and moved around next to Mary-Margaret.

"There was...an accident the other night, involving Ruby" Mary-Margaret peeled back the bandage covering the wound to show Granny.

Granny's anger immediately flared "The stupid girl!"

"Is it that bad?" Watcher asked with an even tone.

"Yes girl, it's that bad. Your life will never be the same again. And Regina's going to kill Ruby when she finds out" Granny told them.

"Well what do we do?" Mary-Margaret asked desolately.

"Ruby has control over her change, I suppose I can give you her hood to help while you adjust"

"No, I don't wanna take that option from her" Watcher stated "Is there another way?"

"We can't have you running around on four legs during the next full moon" Granny said chidingly.

"Maybe Mr Gold can help?" Mary-Margaret said out of the blue.

Granny gave her a look "You know that man doesn't do anything for nothing. What has he to gain from helping her?"

"Maybe he'd help if I was his student" Watcher stated, her gaze directed at the wall in thought.

The others heads snapped towards her.

"For helping me, he'd get me" Watcher continued, looking to Mary-Margaret pointedly.

Mary-Margaret's eyes widened in realisation and a wide acknowledging grin began form, meaning she was picking up what Watcher was putting down.

"What does she mean?" Granny questioned, but her question was unanswered.

"No, that's good" Mary-Margaret said.

"He likes power and you told me you were able to move and summon things after a few hours lesson, and you broke through Cora's shield. Even 'The Great Rumplestiltskin' had trouble doing that when she was alive! Cora had years of practice...you've only had two days max! You told me that while we were waiting for Granny. Gold would be stupid to ignore that!"

"You're getting excited" said Granny gently.

"And you're scaring me" stated Watcher with a wide eyed worried look.

"And he's a spinner!" continued Mary-Margaret "He could make you a hood like Ruby's!"

"Mary-Margaret, that's actually a good idea" said Granny "But you need to calm down" she insisted.

Mary-Margaret breathed out and apologised.

"We need to talk to Gold" Granny agreed, finally realising what they were on about.

She felt she should've known with Watcher. She was, after all, a Mills.


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry it's been a while, I've had a busy two weeks. But, here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.**

**R**

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

The gang, excluding Regina and Watcher, were in Rumplestiltskin's shop celebrating Henry's birthday.

The young boy blew out his candles and Gold moved forward beside him "And now, my boy, for your present. Pick one object from the shop. Anything you like"

Henry looked about him and moved toward a nearby counter, spying the rack of wands.

"That!" he said definitely, picking out a wand and waving it about a bit to get the feel of it

"Hey, careful, buddy, wands are powerful" his father told him but Henry payed no heed and turned back to his grandfather suddenly.

"So how does it work?"

"Ah...here, let me show you" Gold said as he took it from the boys hands.

He held it above Henry's head, making the boy look up to it, eager to learn something.  
He watched as Rumplestiltskin waved it in a circular motion three times and with a sudden flick of his wrist, the boy was now entirely porcelain.

The others jumped back in surprise.

"Why would you do that?!" David screamed

"The prophecy" Gold stated simply "The seer said the boy would be my undoing. So I have no choice" he lifted his cane further in his hand into the air "I must be his"

As his cane passed through the porcelain head Rumplestiltskin awoke with a start.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Watcher was up on her feet the next day, sick and tired of being in a bed.

She wandered aimlessly through the halls occasionally popping her head into a room just to say 'hi'.  
People obviously weren't used to random acts of sweetness and sometimes she got strange looks but alot of the time people were happy for the strange distraction.

She heard a few conversations going on between patients, Doctors and Visitors, but one in particular caught her attention.

"I imagine my last phone call was a bit alarming" the voice sounded like Mr Gold's...and he was close by.

The patient cleared their throat and a sweet but raspy voice answered him.

"Sounded like you were on your death bed" It was Belle. Her sweet tone would be recognisable to anyone who knew her.

"I'm really sorry if I startled you" Gold replied. He continued on as if he'd previously written out everything and practiced it on the mirror for five hours

"I know that you have no memory of me, but my feelings for you are real. And I just needed you to know that in case, well, in case I died"

_'Wow. Totally unrehearsed. Real casual. Someone give this man an Oscar'_

"I'm glad you're okay" Belle told him "And I could tell your feelings were true"

"You could?" he sounded confused by this.

Watcher leaned against the wall listening to the two of them just talk, letting a small smile appear on her face. It slid away quickly as she thought of a friend she lost in similar circumstances. She was still lost and dead for all she knew...and it was all her fault.

"Belle, you always brought out the best in me. And, right now, I need that"

_'Probably not the right direction to go Gold!' _Watcher thought, eyes widening and listening with bated breath, waiting for the blow up.

"So, yes, I will do everything I can to bring you back. For you. And for me"

_'That was so sweet I think I have a cavity now'_

Watcher waited for something to go wrong, so she was surprised when there was no problem.

"We can help each other" stated Belle

Watcher released the breath with a relieved sigh

"You've been locked up long enough" Watcher heard Gold say. Indicating his exit.

Watcher observed him when he exited.  
When he saw her, he sighed exasperatedly.

"Watcher"

"'Stiltskin" she answered with a smile.

She followed him down the hall quickly and took a place beside him.

"That was pretty cute, you and Belle. How is she? Healing well?" she grinned at the unintentional rhyming.

"She's doing very well. Is there any particular reason for this conversation? I am, in fact, in the process of something important" he answered.

"You shouldn't have left her alone. Regina's coming" she told him honestly.

He scoffed "Excuse me if I don't believe you"

"Okay. But don't blame me when it happens"

They walked on in silence for a bit.

"Is there any chance you could leave me alone?" he asked her annoyed.

"No" she said plainly "Besides, I wanted to discuss a proposition" she stated, staring at her feet as she walked.

"You want to make a deal with me?" he questioned "You have nothing I want"

"Are you sure about that? And I said proposition"

"I'm sure" he stated with a severely definite tone.

They'd reached the front desk and he turned away to talk with the nurse and sign Belle out.

He turned again and started making his way back down the hall to Belle's room, Watcher still by his side.

"But, dearie, I think I do. I think I have power. Power that you'll want on your side for the battle to come" she said softly.

"And what power is that, dearie?" he said scornfully.

"Power that threw Cora into a ceiling and nearly killed her" Watcher said easily.

Gold stopped in his tracks. He didn't believe that that could be true, he'd never heard of someone doing that to Cora. He was intrigued to say the least, but at the same time he couldn't believe her...she was Cora's daughter.

Watcher, who'd kept walking, broke him from his trace "Come along Gold!"

He made his way next to her as fast as his injured leg would allow "You're lying!" he hissed when he was close enough.

"Fine, don't believe me. But when you see Regina next, ask her if she's mad about the floor...and the door" she said with a guilty look.

He watched her continue on down the hall before making his way back to Belle's room.

He entered to find it empty.

"Nurse! Nurse!"

The nurse nearby came running.

"There was a patient here suffering from amnesia. Where is she?"

The Nurse looked as confused as he did "Belle? She should still be here"

"So where is she?!" he barked

The Nurse held up her hands in surrender and ran from the room to ask someone who would know.

Gold moved further into the room and saw a pack of matches on the bed. The kind you would find in a pub.  
He examined it closely to memorize the name on the cover;

'The Rabbit Hole'

He made his way out of the hospital and down the street to where he now knew she would be.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Mary-Margaret signed the papers for Watchers release and offered to take her home.  
But it didn't seem like the girl was listening. She looked sad and wrapped in her own thoughts.

Granny had told the girl that she would be welcome back in the diner anytime and to call on her if she needed help with transitioning, commenting that it would be a rough few months.

Mary-Margaret made her way back to Watchers room just as said girl was putting her shoes on.

"You're free to go"

Watcher just nodded and stood, walking past the dark haired woman in the doorway, who had to run to catch up to her and was staring at her strangely.

"Did I do something wrong?" Mary-Margaret asked her. Her hurt evident.

Watcher shook her head "That's what I'm asking myself"

"What do you mean?"

"Regina hasn't seen me since I've woken up. And now Henry hasn't seen me since he left. Does that mean I did something wrong?"

Mary-Margaret formed a sad smile and looped an arm around the other's shoulders.

"You didn't do anything wrong, I'm sure. Maybe they're just busy"

But Mary-Margaret knew Henry was avoiding her. When asked if he wanted to come see her the other day he'd said no and a grim angry look had crossed his face.

"Why don't we go to Granny's? I'm sure Ruby would be thrilled to see you up and about" She suggested.

Watcher nodded again sadly.

Mary-Margaret linked arms with her and they made their way out onto the street and to Granny's diner.


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry for the delayed update, but I hope everyone enjoys it all the same.**

**R**

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Gold barged into Regina's office, letting the door bang against the wall.

"What have you done with Belle?"

Regina looked up from the paperwork she was dealing with.

"I'm sorry, do I look like a one handed pirate with a pistol? You know who shot her" she stated casually, letting her eyes fall back to what she was doing.

"Stop playing games, she's gone. And now she's someone else!" he said forcefully.

"Oh, you mean, she has her memories back" Regina said with a smile as she finished what she was doing and put her pen down "You're welcome"

She stared at him reproachfully as she stood and moved away from her desk.

"Not her memories. Her curse memories"

"Yeah, from the curse you gave me" she pointed out as she moved by him to the rest of her files, picking up another that was in the 'IN' tray.

"You see, all I did was jog things back in place"

"Well, undo it. Bring her back" Gold insisted

"You know I can't. She crossed the Town Line. Her old self is gone. These curse memories she has now are real" That smile of hers was back in place as she waltz past him "Lacey is here to stay"

"Any curse can be broken, dearie. Now you are gonna help me-"

She cut him off.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" she sat down in her chair again "No you won't"

That smug smile of hers kept disappearing and reappearing like a white rabbit in a magicians hat.

"Oh, won't I" he threatened.

"You're on your best behaviour because of your son" she stated 'as-a-matter-of-factly'

"You don't want him to know who you really are, now, do you? So I suggest you get used to Lacey"

She rolled away to do something nearby, effectively finishing her side of this infuriating conversation.

"Alright. I'll find a way" he sat down in the chair in front of her.

"Finding a way isn't the problem, dear" Regina stated, not looking up from what she was doing "We both know what is"

"Yeah, true love's kiss" he stated knowingly.

"And I don't think our new resident feels the same way about you as you do her" she didn't look up from her work but gave a small shake of her head, as a sort of acknowledgement.

"Then I'll make her" Gold said a little too loudly.

"Now, there's the charm that should easily woo a young lady" Regina replied sarcastically with a smile as she looked at him.

"She'll most certainly fall in love with you at first sight" she continued.

Gold looked away awkwardly and Regina chuckled.

"Oh, wait, that didn't happen, did it?" she taunted.

Gold stood abruptly and lent across the desk to look down on her angrily.

"She will. Or, I promise you, there will be suffering" he said, voice dangerously low.

Regina looked seriously her tone even and just as deadly "Finally something we both can agree on. Good luck Gold"

Gold turned and began to walk out of the office, but not before Regina had her final say.

"Oh, and give my best to Lacey"

He knew she was trying to rile him up, and it was working, but he also had his ammunition. It becoming even more dangerous as he looked over to the side of the room and saw the broken floor and doorway.

"What happened here?" he asked.

_"Pipe line"_ was the reply that he got and that didn't sound too convincing.

"Tell your sister I said get better soon" he threw over his shoulder.

He exited the office leaving Regina staring after him, wearing the same look he was.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Watcher had entered the diner with Mary-Margaret a few hours ago and had yet to leave.

She was scared to go home. Scared to see Regina. Scared what the reaction would be when her big sister found out she was now a Werewolf.  
Watcher felt if she stayed at the diner with Ruby and Granny she could at least monitor the situation...and maybe look out for her friend when Regina came running to kill her.

Leroy and David had come in to get something to eat for the other Dwarfs, while they and Anton slaved away on their little 'landscaping' project...read Magic Bean Crop.  
Of course, Watcher was the only one in town who knew the truth, but she thought it better not to let on.

Granny had just handed over the Chilli, excluding beans, and they were having a nice little chat on the counter when Mr Gold entered, un-noticed by all except Watcher.

Leroy left after a mild confrontation and Gold sat down, looking a little worse for wear. Granny went back to what she'd been doing before, berating Watcher for not leaving.

"I'm sure my Granddaughter has told you I don't like customers who just come to sit" she said gruffly as she sat down in the booth across from Watcher, groaning as she did so.

"A piece of advice; don't grow old, it's no fun"

Watcher smiled "I'll take that into consideration" she joked.

Granny stared at her for a bit but Watcher didn't make eye contact.

"What are you still doing here child?"

"Don't wanna go home. Don't know if I even have a home to go to. Don't wanna leave Ruby unprotected" Watcher told her honestly.

"Ruby can take care of herself" Granny returned quietly, just as honestly and with a hint of a smile, thinking that this girl was very different to the other Mills women. In this instance the apple was thrown from the branch by some unknown force.

Granny placed a tender hand on Watchers "Ruby's still to come on yet, hang around a little longer. She'll be glad to see you"  
She smiled widely before pulling herself out of the booth and back behind the counter.

David and Gold were still talking even when Granny got there.

After about half an hour Ruby appeared, though had yet to see Watcher sitting nearby.

Ruby sat down on one of the stools at the counter still looking extremely depressed. Granny placed a milkshake down in front of her and told her something, pointing to the tables.

Ruby grudgingly stood and picked up the beverage, making her way over to the booth where Watcher was, not really seeing that the younger girl was sitting there.  
When Ruby did eventually look up she dropped the heavy glass, letting shards explode and fly across the floor, catching the attention of the other customers in the small diner.

"Ruby!" Granny shouted, but Ruby wasn't listening.

She stepped and skipped over the remnants on the floor and all but pounced on Watcher squeezing her in a tight hug.

"Oh my God! Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she was now on the verge of tears "I didn't know it was you! I swear I didn't!"

"Ruby it's fine, I forgive you" Watcher laughed.

"But I think you might be breaking my bones" she managed to wheeze out.

Ruby instantly let go, wiping away a few stray tears. Watcher still laughed at her.

"Ruby" Granny called gently "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, but you'll need to clean up the mess you made" she stated sternly but kindly.

"Allow me" said Rumplestiltskin and with a wave of his hand the floor was magically clean again. Then he was on his feet and making his way across to the two girls in the booth.  
The rest of the diner went back to eating and talking. David and Granny watched the scene carefully.

"Miss Watcher, I believe you had a proposition for me? I'm ready to listen" he stated

Ruby didn't move from her seat and Watcher indicated for him to sit.

"You were right when you said it was a deal, it is of a sort" she stated "I just wasn't sure how to word it at the time"

"Well I'll help you with the wording if you're in need of it" he said with a small, kinder looking smile.

Watcher let out a chuckle, not fooled by him at all "I need something. But knowing you, you'd want something in return"

"Well what do you need?" he asked her.

Ruby sat there looking between the two, cautiousness evident in her eyes.

"I need a hood...like Ruby's"

"What?" he asked confused.

"I need a red hood of some sort, similar to Ruby's, that has the same spell placed on it"

Ruby was staring at Watcher, now ready to cry again "I didn't?!"

Watcher took the other girls hand and placed her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"I did!" Watcher heard her say.

Ruby placed her elbow on the table and her forehead in her palm, a few stray tears ruining her mascara.

"How could you be so stupid?!" Gold hissed at her.

"It was an accident 'Stiltskin" Watcher snapped.

Gold breathed in and out for a minute and then looked to Watcher "Does Regina know?"

"No"

"Oh God!" Ruby mumbled.

"So you need a hood like the Werewolf's, I can do that. But what do I get in this deal?" Gold asked.

Watcher leaned back in her seat eyeing him, her game face on.

"You get me"

Both Ruby and Gold looked at her confused.

"What would I possibly want with you?" he questioned.

"You been to Regina's office yet?" she stated in question form.

He too leaned back "I take it that wasn't a usual pluming problem"

"I need to learn control" Watcher said.

"That's obvious. What exactly were you doing at the time?" he questioned.

"Trying to break Cora's force field. And I succeeded, with some consequences. Like a broken floor and an angry sister"

"That sounds like a very one sided deal to me" Gold stated, starting to get up from his seat.

"Take it or leave it. It's entirely up to you. But I wonder how you'll feel if I accidentally bite your girlfriend? Or one of the two newbie's in town?"

Gold ignored her and began to walk to the exit, knowing she was all talk and no action.

"Or are you worried I'll be more powerful than you?" she called.

That stopped him. He turned and walked back to the table observing her scratching her nail polish off.

She didn't look up to him as she spoke again.

"I know for a fact you taught Cora and my sister, why not me?"

"Well, it's not because I'm worried" he said scathingly "I just don't have the time"

"Because you're trying to get Belle back?" she asked, feigning interest.

"Obviously you would know that"

She finally looked up to him "I still need that hood though"

"Consider it free of charge" he spat back and went to puff away like a ninja, only to find that he couldn't. A small cloud of magic appeared and disappeared around his hand.

People were watching again now and he could feel embarrassment creeping in like ice.

Watcher had thrown up her hand in protest and whatever she had done it prevented him from using his teleportation magic.  
He looked at his hand and down and around himself, wondering why it hadn't worked. He looked back over to Watcher quizzically.

"How did you do that?" he asked her, genuinely concerned and impressed.

"Do what?" she was confused beyond anything at his question "All I did was say 'wait' and go to grab you"

Gold stared at her a bit longer, letting everything that had been said and happened roll though his brain. He then came to a decision.

"Why don't you want Regina to teach you?" he questioned her firstly.

"I want the best for a teacher. Is that so hard to comprehend?"

It was a good answer and gave his ego a great boost.

"Fine. Miss Watcher Mills, I believe you have yourself a deal" he said holding out his hand to shake with hers, which she did so happily.

"Be at my shop tomorrow morning at nine o'clock sharp. Or I may reconsider"

Gold turned away again and went back to David at the counter and they exited the diner together.

_'Obviously to try and win back Belle...maybe I should go see her. I'll be seeing a lot more of her anyway now that I'm his student"_


	27. Chapter 27

**Just a short one this time. Enjoy**

**R**

* * *

**P.O.V Change**

Emma was seated at the pier staring at a picture of her parents in Henry's book when she heard Regina's voice. Unbeknownst to her, Regina had been looking for her for over an hour now, wanting to speak with her.

"Reading up on Henry's father?" Regina questioned "Or maybe his grandfather?" she stated as she sat on the opposite chair beside her.

"How long did you think you could keep that from me?"

"Well, I was going to tell you, but I was kinda busy trying to stop you and your mother from killing me and my entire family" Emma stated, much to Regina's disapproval, not like Emma really cared though.

Regina let a hint of guilt run through her as she tore her eyes away from the blonde before she leant closer.

"What is he doing here?"

"Neal? Relax" Emma told her sincerely "He just wants to spend a little time with his son" She could understand the other woman's defensiveness.

"Funny, he didn't seem to want to spend time with him the first ten years of his life-" Regina shot.

Emma could see where this was going. Regina's usual defence was rearing its ugly little head, her belittling defence.

"-But then again, neither did you" she finished

"You know what, Regina? How 'bout instead of worrying about everyone else, you start focusing on trying to be the person Henry wants you to be? Before you lose him for good" maybe this piece of advice would make her think straight for once.

Regina looked at her curiously and worryingly "For good? What does that mean?"

Emma sighed "Nothing. Unlike you, the rest of the world isn't always scheming to get what they want" she told Regina honestly. But Regina wasn't fooled by carefully chosen words, she could see something in the blondes face that told her otherwise.

"No, you're hiding something" she said with a shake of her head "Well, whatever it is, I can assure you of one thing" she stated with a cruel smile "I'm going to find out"

Regina stood and walked away leaving Emma to stare at where she had previously been.

She turned her eyes back to the book "How could Watcher have ended up in a family like that?" she asked aloud and under her breath.

"You can't pick and choose your family" came a reply beside her.

Emma turned her head quickly and gasped in pain as her neck cracked loudly. Watcher, who had snuck up on her, snorted in mirth

"Careful. Your head might come away from your shoulders" she giggled out

Emma sighed in relief as she rubbed her neck "Watcher. You gave me a fright. What were you saying" she said with a smile.

"Family. You can't pick and choose. They just are. You can't change them and it's difficult to try and improve them for the better"

There was a quiet pause for a minute.

"How's Henry?" Watcher asked her.

Now Emma was looking at her properly, she noted the red hoodie jacket that she was wearing, the hood up and obscuring her features slightly as she looked out the ocean.

"He's fine. Though he does act a little strange whenever your name comes up" she told the girl "How 'bout you? I see Gold took you up on your offer" she nodded toward the jacket

"Yeah, I'm good, yeah"

They fell into silence for a while

"I haven't seen you in a while Emma, how about you? How have you been?" Watcher eventually asked

Emma looked at her strangely "Um...I'm good"

Watcher nodded "Cool. David and Mary Margaret? They're good?"

Emma nodded this time still looking at her, many a thought running through her mind

"Regina?" Watcher questioned

"Why are you asking me? Why don't you just go see them? You literally just missed Regina" Emma stated.

"Just wanting your opinion is all" Watcher stated returning her gaze to the water. As did Emma, who was convinced Watcher had sustained some head injury as, she was convinced that, this was not normal behaviour for the girl.

"I miss you guys is all" declared Watcher quietly.

Emma turned back to the girl, only to find that she was no longer seated next to her and nowhere to be seen along the wharf.

Emma was now positive that something was up.

"I'm sure Mary-Margaret signed her out" she said to herself confused.

She realised it was getting late and decided to make her way back to the Loft.


	28. Chapter 28

**P.O.V Change**

Greg Mendell, now Owen Flynn, sat in his car at the town Line watching a set of headlights approach.  
He got out of his car as the other car, pulling a moving trailer, came to a stop next to his. He turned on a flashlight, checking up and down the road to be sure no one else was around.

Tamara got out of the car as he let out a relieved sigh "Hey, Beautiful. We all good?"

She smiled "Better than good" she said before he kissed her happily.

"Now, should we unwrap the package?" she asked with a twisted glee

"You think he'll co-operate?" he asked her, genuinely concerned...considering who they were dealing with.

"I wouldn't worry about that" she stated confidently "From what I know of him, I don't think he'll need much convincing to help us."

"What makes you say that?" Owen asked with a grin, her optimism rubbing off on him.

"Because, if there's one person you can always count on to do your dirty work-"

She pulled open the door of the trailer revealing a multitude of cases, boxes and one Captain Hook, gagged and bound...and not in a way he would like.

"-it's a pirate" Tamara finished

Hook glared at her from where he was seated, blinded by the torch light and attempting to throw insults to the pair that were now staring at him. He was hookless and felt naked without it.

"There's something else" Tamara said, this time her tone slightly concerned "I heard tell of someone called Watcher that was hanging around town"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Owen asked her

"She's said to be The Mayor's sister" she told him with a smile. He smiled in return.

"Watcher, that's an unusual name. Do you think she's the same one Head Office warned us about?"

Hook yelled something that sounded like a warning, but it was muffled by the gag. Owen and Tamara just laughed at his suffering.

He rolled his eyes at them and thought of what Watcher would do to them when they found her, if they found her.  
And when they would ask him about her, which they undoubtedly would, he would tell them, with all truth intendid, that he had never met the girl, that he'd been in the hospital and New York when she'd been with her sister and mother.

He'd heard that she was fiercely loyal to those she cared about.

He'd be dreaming of the girl tonight. Dreaming of how she would rip them apart.

* * *

There was nothing but darkness in his vision and he was rather sick of it.

"Actually, I prefer it with the lights on" Hook said sarcastically.

The bag was ripped from his head, and though it was night out, his eyes still had to adjust, although the bag had whipped his nose some and made him grunt lightly in pain at the sting.

"I've spent enough time below deck to not be afraid of the dark. So if this is your idea of torture, well, you're just going to have to try a little harder" his sarcastic tone remained, though his eyes trailed Tamara.

"Torture you? No, we just want to offer you a job" Owen told him

"Oh. And then you're gonna let me go?" he said this as seriously as he could and then burst into laughter, obviously not as stupid as he often made himself look.

"I'm sorry. I already did that last job" he said looking between them "I killed Rumplestiltskin. I'm sated. Replete. My life's purpose met"

"Wish I could've been there, to see you stab the Dark One" said Tamara said knowingly, her tone somewhat mocking.

"Well, look who's up to speed" said Hook with a smile

"I'm a quick learner" she stated

"Well, then you know my work is done" Hook affirmed forcefully

"Yeah, I don't think so" Owen commented as he moved to grab one side of the chair. Tamara grabbed the other side and they both dragged him forward to look out of what had once been the face of the clock in the tower.

"Take a look" Owen told Hook as Tamara pulled out Hook's telescope and handed it to said pirate.

Hook took it from her bitterly and stared out the empty clock face to the centre of the town, specifically to a pub that two figures were exiting from, chatting happily.

"No" Hook whispered unbelievingly as he spied Gold and Lacey walking arm in arm down the street.

"No!" Hook yelled, confusion and anger swelling in his chest, ready to blind him.

"He's alive, Hook" Tamara stated as she pulled the telescope out of his grasp, none to gently either.

The two, Owen and Tamara, dragged him backward, away from the view as he growled in frustration and pulled against his bonds, determined to try and finish the evil imp all over again.

"He beat you" Owen mocked as Hook sighed and tried to control his emotions, it was no good losing his head over it.

"This guy has powerful magic 'mate'. He's untouchable, you'll never get another chance to take him down"

"Oh, I will. I will indeed" Hook said with conviction

"Not unless we help you" Tamara told the pirate

"How can you help me?!" Hook hissed. It was starting to annoy him how unemotional they were being

Tamara looked to her lover with a happy smile. Now they had him. Hook, line and sinker.

"We know how to kill magical creatures" she said

There was silence between the three of them. Hook looked, again, between the both of them before looking down and away almost thinking it over.

"And the price?"

Tamara looked toward her lover again as he spoke "I need you to help me find someone"

Hook looked to him, listening intently

"My father" Owen continued "He was taken in this town a long time ago"

"Why the bloody hell do you think I'll be able to help you find you father?" Hook questioned

"Because you know the woman that took him" Owen said almost ominously "Regina"

Hook rolled and closed his eyes. He had suspected that she'd be involved somehow.

When he opened his eyes, Owen was staring at him and holding up the pirates namesake to show him, waving it about a little to make a point  
"Do we have a deal" he mocked

Hook thought it over some more before agreeing.

"So what's going to be your first move?" Tamara questioned as Owen locked Hook's hook back into place and untied him.

"Well first, you're going to have to get to Regina. Not physically. Mentally...emotionally. You're going to have to hit her where it hurts" Hook told them

"Her son" Owen said

"No" corrected Hook "Her ego...and her sister. You're going to have to start playing Regina's games"

"But how does her sister come into all of this?" Tamara questioned again

"Because she's protective of her sister" Hook stated "Regina lost her when the girl was just a toddler. Cora lied and told Regina that she'd died from sickness. It's one reason as to why she is the way she is today. She refuses to lose her again. And you can't really take the boy. That would attract too much attention. You wouldn't only have Regina to deal with you'd have his mother and his grandparents, not to mention the whole town coming after you"

Tamara and Owen looked to each other, although Hook missed it as he stretched his back and arms.

"So go after the girl" Tamara said "Got it"

"There's just one thing" Hook went on, ignoring Tamara's input "The girl is trained in combat. Not magic, proper combat. According to her mother. You see, Cora told me of a confrontation that occurred between the three of them when they first met here in Storybrooke. Apparently, the girl, Watcher as she's called, had her big sister running scared. Cora didn't get involved. She was too shocked seeing her baby girl again for the first time in years. If you were to get the girl, even get near her with ill intention, she would destroy you in less than a second."

"So we make friends with her" Tamara said

"That's just the problem. How much exactly has your 'Head Office' told you about The Watcher?" Hook questioned them.

"They haven't really told us anything" Owen told him "They just said to be on the lookout for any of them"

Hook chuckled "Well, the job is in the name. No doubt as soon as she learned who you are she'd be off telling the others everything about you and your plan would fall to pieces. Whereas me, if I were to get close, I might just stand a chance. Though she might not trust me completely"

"But wouldn't she suspect something if you just turn up?" Owen questioned

"Exactly" said Hook with a smile "And Regina's going to run to Henry's side leaving her sister unprotected on that part. Then I'll swoop in with a sleeping dart and take the girl"

The pair may have agreed to this, but they had a plan of their own that they were going to stick to.


	29. Chapter 29

A fisherman sat on the wharf, next to a boat, fixing a next and half listening to what was going on around him.  
Up above him, where the seats were situated, Mary-Margaret and David sat together under a checked blanket, discussing Regina and the Magic beans.

"If we're going back to the Enchanted Forest" Mary-Margaret started "Are we really going to leave Regina behind?"

"She's too dangerous to bring with us" David told her "We have to leave her"

Mary-Margaret shook her head

"But Henry won't like it" she said after a moment "She is his mother. Despite all the horrors. And Watcher! What will she think when she finds out?!" Mary-Margaret went on sadly

"Mary-Margaret, those horrors will continue. And Watcher I think, without a doubt, already knows everything...and I was thinking of leaving her here as well"

Mary-Margaret looked at him with shocked disgust, which made him continue on quickly

"Before you bite my head off! The reason I say that, is because she doesn't belong there anymore...and we'd be leaving the remainder of her family here"

"But she's Henrys aunt now. That makes here our family too...and I would feel terrible leaving her here" Mary-Margaret said "I doubt she'd stay here even with her Watcher abilities"

David gave a nod, he'd forgotten about the young woman's Watcher abilities.

"But Regina" he said pulling Mary-Margaret close "You want to give her another chance? Because every time we do, she's-"

"She slips, I know" Mary-Margaret interrupted "What do we do?" she continued, her brow furrowing and creating harsh lines across her forehead.

David thought of something suddenly "Instead of a second chance, we give her a choice. Come back, live out her days in Rumple's cell, or stay here"

Neither noticed the fisherman disappear behind a wall and turn back into Regina

"Jail cell?" she questioned aloud, she shook her head with her trademark smirk "I don't think so"

* * *

**P.O.V Change**

Watcher had spent the night over at Ruby's.

Even though Granny had kept insisting that Ruby could take care of herself, Watcher didn't feel it was right to leave the other girl alone in dangerous times such as these...so to say.

After Ruby's shift they'd gone out to the bar further down the road to shoot a few rounds of pool...and have a few drinks.  
When they'd been coming back, Watcher had looked to the tower and saw the glint of a spyglass. Ahead of them, Mr. Gold and Lacey were walking arm in arm and chatting happily.  
It was then she remembered the next event to occur in the 'sleepy town'

But she wouldn't remember any of it now, waking up on the floor of Ruby's room, packed between multitudes of blankets and coats.

"Oh god, I didn't think I could drink that much" she looked over to Ruby sprawled under the covers on her bed and the clock on the nightstand beside it. She swore loudly when she saw the time.

She crawled her way out of her nest quickly and raced out the door letting it slam again the wall, waking Ruby in the process, who fell out of the bed comically.

Watcher raced through into the diner and behind the counter where Granny was preparing toast for Leroy's breakfast. Watcher snatched two pieces as she ran through "His breakfasts on me. I'm gonna be late!" she said hurriedly as she ran to the door and out on to the street.  
Granny stared at the girls back disapprovingly where as Leroy smiled at the thought of a free breakfast. His smile vanished and he shook his head, tutting disapprovingly when Granny turned back to him.

Watcher bolted down the street, she hoped, at a Speedy Gonzalez pace.  
She had three minutes now to make it Gold's shop and it was at least seven minute walk from the diner.  
She remembered the jokes she used to share with The Doc about running being in the Job Description, but couldn't laugh for breathing.

_'He would slap me if he knew I called him Doc, he hates that'_

She saw Gold's shop and kept moving.

She finally reached the door and took hold of the handle, still coming in at speed, but she tried to open the door the wrong way and so slammed face first into the glass of the door.

She was on her back on the asphalt of the sidewalk clutching her now bleeding nose when the door was pulled open harshly by Rumplestiltskin.  
He looked at his door that now had a small amount of blood on the window and then down at her disapprovingly.  
He shifted the sleeve of his jacket and checked his watch.

"Here with a minute to spare. Your first lesson, cleaning my window"

He moved back into the shop, holding the door open for her as she picked herself up off the ground.

She walked into the shop still holding her bloody nose.  
Lacey, who was behind the counter, was sniggering at the sight but kindly inspected Watchers nose for any breakages.

"It's alright, I've had worse and I'd know if it were broken. I have strong innards but weak skin" Watcher told her. Sure enough, there was a definite cut across her nose.

"I'll get something to clean it and a bandaid" said Lacey and with that she left the room.

Watcher looked to Gold.

"Is she gonna be here the whole time?"

"No" he answered "I told her that, my apprentice and I, have business to attend to and that we would be leaving at nine o'clock sharp"

He picked up a bag that was sitting on the counter and turned back to her

"I'll heal that for you once we've gone" he told her kindly

Watcher cocked her head with a crooked smile, blinking lazily "If I didn't know better Mr. Gold, I'd say you were warming up to me"

He didn't have a chance to reply smartly as Lacey reappeared with paper towel and a bottle of water.  
She wet the towel and dabbed it carefully over Watcher's nose, then began unwrapping the small bandage that had been hidden in a pocket and gently placed it over the wound.

Watcher smiled. There was still some of Belle in there, she could see it.

"Thanks. I'm Watcher by the way"

"I'm Lacey" the other replied, taking the hand that was held out to her

"If you're all stitched up, we need to be leaving" Gold stated, pulling Watcher by the shoulder to the door.  
"I'll see you later on" he said kindly to Lacey as they left.

They walked in silence, until;

"So, what're we learning today teach?"

Gold gave the girl a side glance before answering her

"Today, it's not so much a lesson as a student as it is a lesson as an apprentice" he told her

"What do you mean? I'm not learning magic? You're not going to teach me?"

They stopped by Regina and Henry at the bird feeding tree.

"What are we doing?" Watcher asked quietly, a sense of dread creeping into her heart

"Regina needs to be informed of your predicament. And I believe Henry needs to have a little chat with his aunt" he answered her.

Needless to say, Watcher was panicked now...as well as confused

_'What did he mean about Henry?"_

"Do you plan on standing there all day?" Regina called, not tearing her eyes from her son. Although he had looked to the pair, previous to her words and a frown had settled into his features, he remained silent.

"There's something you need to be informed of" Gold told her "That's one of the reasons we're here"

"One of the reasons? What's the other reasons?" Regina questioned

"Does there really need to be a reason?" the elder man joked

"You just live to be annoying, don't you?" Watcher asked him sarcastically

Regina gave her signature smile at her sisters attitude "So what's one of these reasons you came to talk about? Or are you here to just to be neighbourly?"

"Well one of the reasons is this" Rumplestiltskin said as, with a flourish of his hand, a bright red jacket appeared in his grasp.

Watcher stared at it wide eyed and unmoving. There was silence until Gold stared over to her.

"Come, come now dearie" he whispered "Face your fears"

Regina looked confused and bored "Are you wanting me to approve a new hood for the wolf?"

Henry, who was a little quicker on the uptake...and had all the relevant information, turned his own wide eyes to Watcher, but still said nothing.

"It's not for Ruby" Gold stated

Regina looked toward her sister confused "Do you know what he's on about?"

Watcher gave a frustrated whine "Don't freak out! Please, don't freak out! I only didn't tell you because I didn't know how you'd react. And she didn't mean to do it! It was just...everyone involved was in the wrong place at the wrong time! And I forgave her! I mean, it wasn't even her fault to begin with-"

Regina waved her hands to silence her sister, even more confused than she already was.

"What are you talking about? Wrong place, wrong time? Whose fault? Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on around here?" Regina asked loudly

The two sisters looked at each other, the younger rather sheepishly.

"Yes" Watcher said in a pitchy, timid voice.

Regina stared at her sister, mouth agape. Watcher moved forward and closed her sisters mouth "Don't let the flies in. They don't taste particularly good"

Things stayed quiet for about a minute until Gold decided to take the reigns

"Fine then. If you're not going to tell her then I will! Maybe we'll get out of here sooner"

"Maybe it's not your place to tell!" Watcher spat at him as she continued to stare at her sister, but he just ignored her.

"Your beloved sister was bitten by the Werewolf. This is** her** hood" he stated as he draped the red garment over the young girls head, effectively hiding her glare from view. It was quite comical when she snapped her head back in his direction to try and stare at him.

Regina blinked and turned an angry eye to her baby sister who, even as the comic relief in the situation, continued to cower underneath the red material.  
Watcher could see the disapproving look Regina was giving her through the material, but chose not to direct her attention to her sister instead she spoke to Rumplestiltskin again.

"Did you make this? It's nice. Good material, nice and soft, warm but breathable. It's great workmanship"

He answered her with a small 'yes' and a quiet 'Oh, well, thank you'

"I'm gonna kill that Werewolf" Regina hissed "And then I'm gonna kill you!" she continued pointing to her sister "How could you not tell me you're now a Werewolf?!"

"Because I knew you'd react badly!" Watcher shot back in sad tones

"Oh and I bet Snow White knows exactly what's going on!"

"Of course!" Watcher could feel her anger bubbling "She was there the whole time! She looked after me when I needed someone to!"

"I'm your big sister. I'm the one that's supposed to look after you!"

"Well where the hell have you been?!" Watcher yelled

**"Enough!"** Henry screamed calling all attention of those around him.

Watcher looked around them. Other people on the street had taken to staring at the screaming match that had just ended.

"Do you mind?!" Watcher said forcefully causing those watching to hurry away

Rumplestiltskin and Regina were both proud of the young girls superiority over the others around them, though Regina didn't let it show at that moment.  
Henry gave Watcher a look of disparagement.

"She's protective" he told his mother, who gaped at him. He turned to Watcher "You both are!" he stated cogently and matched Watcher's obdurate expression.

"Gold tells me that we should have a talk" she said softly. She raised a brow but the rest of her look remained the same "Was he right?"

"I suppose" Henry said dismissively

"So what do we need to talk about?"

"How about we start with the files in the Mausoleum"

"You found the files?! Henry, please tell me you didn't read anything?" Watcher asked, panic becoming evident in her voice.

"A bit, not too much" he said evenly

She looked at him wide eyed and threw herself forward. If Rumplestiltskin hadn't caught her around her middle, she would've jumped the fence and throttled him.  
Regina threw her arms around him and pulled him back away from her maniac sister.

"You little twerp! Do you realise what you've done?!" Watcher screamed at him

"My son is not a twerp!" Regina stated, but Watcher ignored her.

Henry stared at her, shocked by her outburst "I'm more concerned with what you're not telling us!" he yelled at her "You knew everything about us before you even got here! You knew what would happen in the Enchanted Forest with Mary-Margaret and My mom! You knew how Cora would die! You even knew about my dad!"

"You're a stupid, inquisitive, ungrateful little twerp!" She screamed again

"All you had to do was listen to me! I was protecting you Henry! I was protecting you from the duties of a Watcher! I was your age when I went to my first world! I was your age when I had my first kill! I was your age when I became a full-fledged Watcher! This is not a game Henry! This is not fun! This is dangerous information made by dangerous people and executed by people far more precarious! I suppose you saw those other files? The ones of the people? Those aren't people from stories Henry! Those are people, Watchers, who were kidnapped from their homes, from other worlds, by the people I worked for! I'm not here by accident Henry. I have to help those Watchers. I lost two friends because of those files and it was all my fault! Greggson is here because he's been ordered to kill me! Now you've read those files, they'll say they're able to take you! They'll think you know too much. They will train you to fight and die as A Watcher! And you can't get out of being A Watcher...the only escape is death" Watcher stopped and breathed "I was protecting you for turning into me"

Watcher was almost in tears and Regina had a few seep silently from her lashes and land on her sons head.  
Henry stared at his Aunt, a distressed expression settling onto his face.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, wiping his eyes on his sleeve "I'm sorry" he ripped himself from his mothers hold and tore off down the street.

"Henry!" Regina called

Gold reluctantly let go of the girl in his grasp and watched her drop to her knees on the pavement.  
Regina turned to the two of them, looking at her baby sister in disappointment and sympathy. No wonder her sister was the way she was. All that joking around and smiling was covering up the pain and her pain gave reason as to why she was so fierce and protective of herself and others.

Watcher sat on her knees and hid her face in her hands "I suppose I should go after him" she said through her fingers.

She picked herself up and started to walk off in the direction Henry had gone. But not before backtracking and taking her new jacket from Gold's hand as he held it out to her. He having picked it up from the ground when it fell from her head during her rant.

"I suppose there will be no lesson today" he stated off handedly

"What do you mean lesson?" Regina questioned

He looked back to the female Mayor.

"Watcher has asked me to teach her in magic" he said casually

"I was going to do that" Regina growled

"Well, from your friendly conversation just now, I'd say she sought me out. She must thought you were ignoring her. You have been busy after all, I suppose. Too busy to see her in the hospital?"

Regina gave a sour look and walked away down the road to her office.

Rumplestiltskin smirked and made his way back to his shop to spend more time with Lacey.


	30. Chapter 30

**P.O.V Change**

_(An Hour And A Half Later)_

Regina stood in her office admiring the Magic Beans she'd managed to snag from the Bean Crop.

She smiled to herself deviously before she heard someone approaching from outside.  
She turned and hurried back to her desk, stopping in front of it with an almost relieved look when she realised that it wasn't who she was expecting.

"Captain"

Hook entered the office and shut the door behind him.

"You look like you've had a rough time"

"Indeed I have" he answered her.

He walked forward looking tired, shaking his head as if to remove all inclinations of sleep.

"I've come to ask you for your protection"

Needless to say she was a little shocked by his forwardness and a little confused by it.

"From Gold?" she asked him as he moved further into the room to come to stand by her

"I'm surprised you'd show your face in this town, once you noticed your murder didn't take" she continued.

"Well, we've got bigger problems" he said seriously "That man Greg Mendell? The one who hit me the night I shot Belle?"

Regina was starting to look fed up. She knew everything about that already and was tired of continuously hearing about it...especially from Gold.

"Well, he's in league with some woman" Hook continued "She abducted me in New York and dragged me back to Mendell"

Regina was seriously disbelieving anything that was coming out of his mouth, but she listened intently all the same.

"They want me to make an alliance with you, and then betray you. That's why they let me go"

He could clearly see the gears turning in Regina's mind and willed himself to be more convincing, then she pulled a look that was akin to her mothers and he knew then he had won.

"And I say, let's you and I make an alliance and we'll...we'll skip the unpleasant betrayal business"

There was a momentary pause between the two

"Why should I trust you?" Regina finally questioned

"I took up with your mother for a reason. Perhaps the three of us could re-establish our alliance"

She looked at him angrily and then remembered he wouldn't know about Cora, seeing as he'd run off to New York at the time.

"My mother died" she stated, trying her hardest not to crack all over again.

Hook looked as if he'd been slapped in the face.

"Well, that is sad news indeed. I'm sorry. She will be missed. I will tell you this, Regina. I knew her well enough to know that what she wanted most in the world was to see you win"

"You do realise you say 'indeed' quite a lot" said a voice from the table behind him. Both Regina and Hook quickly manoeuvred to stare at this strange person clad in dark blues, greens and browns and sporting a black hood and mask.

"Is it like your favourite word or something?"

"Who're you?" Regina said forcefully

"I'm no-one really. Just chilling, that's all"

"How did you even get in here?"

"How do you think?"

The stranger clapped their hands and was gone from sight in an instant.  
The two stared at where the person had once been in awe.

"You do realise I already know what's going on don't you?" said the stranger from behind them, making them turn so quick that Hook had to steady Regina as she almost slipped on the tiled floor.

"And what's going on?" Hook asked her emotively.

The stranger smiled "What makes you think I'll say? You're the ones that have to find out for yourselves, I'm just Watching" they said and with another clap of their hands they disappeared entirely from the office.

The pair searched around just to make sure they were alone again.

"Do you think it was your sister playing games?" Hook asked Regina seriously, a little afraid of what the girl might do or who she would tell if it were her. Although...it shouldn't have been her if the plan was unfolding as it was supposed to.

"No. Last I saw Watcher she was looking for Henry. They had a mild argument a while ago. She'd probably still be with him, if anything"

They moved back to the front of the desk to continue their conversation from earlier.

"Where were we?" Hook asked himself before remembering quite quickly.

"Now, I failed in my revenge. The best tribute I could give to her, your mother, is to help you with yours"

"Can I..." Regina started, she sighed before she continued "Let me show you something"

She led him over to her Bean Vine situated near the door.

"Escape plan?" she heard him say from behind her. She looked to him with a smile.

"Oh, she'd have loved that. She brought that Giant for the Beans, so she could go back and start over with you"

"And now I'm going to do that with Henry" she verified. Hook was amazed at how the two Mills women thought alike.

"If you'll help me" she moved forward to stare at him with all seriousness "This is how we're going to escape the total destruction of Storybrooke. If I can trust you" her tone was malicious and dark. The Evil Queen was rising again, if the smirk was anything to go by.

"Now, when you say 'total destruction', including the crocodile, yes?" he wanted to make sure that that was part of the bargain. If it wasn't, he was out.

Regina scoffed at his words as if it were some sort of obvious joke "Oh, yes. Rumplestiltskin will die. If you help me" she pleaded

The conformation of the Crocodiles death only sealed the deal.

* * *

**P.O.V Change**

_(Half An Hour Before)_

Watcher had followed Henry into the woods.

She was a little concerned considering what had happened last time and she could swear her injury was ticking like a clock.

"Henry!"

Unbeknownst to her, Henry had gone back into town ages ago and was currently with Emma invading his dad's personal bubble.

She wandered up near the Wishing Well and peered down into it unhappily.

She felt worse with every passing moment.  
What if he'd fallen down an embankment or something and broken his neck? Or drowned?

Emma would kill her, but that would be nothing compared to what Regina would do!

She had been hoping that she could avoid telling him everything. Had pleaded with all the gods above that he would listen to her just this once...although she couldn't suppress the nagging thought that kept telling her 'I told you so!'

She turned back to go the way she came but stopped at the sight of her shadow.

It was more defined than it had been moments ago. Honestly though, she didn't remember seeing her shadow the whole time she'd been up here. Too many trees blocked the sun and so there was nothing but shade.

She looked up above her to the leafy canopy to be doubly sure she wasn't going mad.  
There was nothing but faint green light high above her head that didn't even touch the dirt floor.

_'There's magic at work here'_

She looked back down and wasn't all that shocked to see that her shadow was gone.

She decided she was mad and to head back to the Town and ask around there about Henry. Surely someone would know his whereabouts and if not, they would help her look.

She saw someone not too far ahead of her coming toward her.

Where she was, they were too far away to make out exactly who it was, but as they got closer, she recognised Tamara.

"Hi!" she called to her

Watcher seemed to catch the other woman off guard but Tamara smiled to her friendly.

"Hi there"

"I'm Sadie Miller" Watcher said with a friendly smile

"Tamara Harris" the other answered holding out her hand to the younger woman in greeting.

Watcher shook it with feigned friendliness.

"So why are you out here?" Watcher asked her

Tamara let out a breath "Well I was out here with my fiancé, but he left something important in our room back in Town. So I decided that I'd just walk along a track and see where my feet take me" she said with a smile, one Watcher could clearly see was a fake.

"What about you? What are you doing out here?" Tamara asked her

Watcher shrugged "One of the local kids decided to play 'hide and seek' and now there's a few of us seeking him"

Tamara looked genuinely concerned "Oh my god! Do you need any more help?"

"Nah, I think we'll be right. He probably is just playing games. We'll find him in no time. But thanks for the offer" Watcher said with a crooked smile.

"If you're sure then" Tamara said, still looking concerned.

Watcher gave a nod to say that she was "Well, I'll leave you to your wanderings. It was nice meeting you"

"You too, good luck finding him"

Watcher gave a smile and walked past Tamara, thinking she'd managed to get away scot free, meaning that she felt she hadn't aroused suspicion seeing as she was walking away.

But Tamara was smart, not like Owen.  
No doubt Tamara would quickly accumulate some sort of suspicions about her.

Her hypothesis was proven correct when Tamara called her back.

"'Miller' is a popular name, almost as popular as 'Smith'-" Tamara stated

There was a resounding 'click' through the quiet air and Watcher turned in time to feel a stabbing sensation in her arm.  
Tamara had actually fired a dart gun, Watcher could see the gun in her hand. She carefully pulled the dart from her neck, a little peeved that she'd still been close enough for a perfect shot.

As she sunk to the ground Tamara continued on with what she'd been saying

"-And the name is taken from those who were involved in milling. Another variation of the name is 'Mills'"

Watcher rolled onto her side and her vision became engulfed in darkness, but she could vaguely hear Tamara calling Owen to come to her, or at least that's what she thought, before she started pushing up 'Z's'.


	31. Chapter 31

**P.O.V Change**

Regina smirked to herself as she rode the elevator up to the Library, admiring her handy work.

The Diamond glistened in the dark light surrounding her and her smirk stretched into an evil grin.  
With this, she could finally be rid of the Charmings and that pesky Swan...she would finally have Henry all to herself.

She felt she was forgetting something, something important, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.  
If that was the case it obviously wasn't all that important.

The doors rolled open and as she stepped out she looked up to see Hook leaning against the front desk.  
She gasped in surprise, faulted and stepped back, intent on keeping some distance between her and the supposed-to-be-dead pirate.

"How?"

"Startling, aren't I? Some people say 'striking'"

She hurridly placed the Diamond in a pouch and in her pocket, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You couldn't have survived that" she stated assuredly, though her voice played with doubt.

He innocently played with the tip of his hook "Well, you should know by now, the one thing I excel at is surviving"

He began to move toward her, trying to push her back further.

She was put off, because he no longer seemed to fear her in the slightest.

"The amazing thing is, you almost had me" he told her "All that stuff about a fresh, clean start, just killing them and moving on. It kind of touched me. For a moment there, I thought we had a real connection, and honestly, I almost put a stop to my plan"

"Your plan?" Regina questioned

"Well, their plan" he confirmed "But I fancied it. And they did save me from that wretched...whatever Maleficent is"

He held eye contact for a moment before he looked, and pointed, toward his right, which is where Tamara and Owen emerged from behind a shelf.

"Do you know these two? Well, they have a way with magic. Or should I say, a way against magic"

The new pair moved to the door and successfully blocked the way. With smug smirks and no fear.

Regina was done playing games, especially since it wasn't her game.

"Enough of this"

She placed her palm up and willed a fire ball...but nothing happened.  
It was then she began to panic. She'd only ever had this happened once before and she did not want to repeat it.

She tried again and still nothing happened.

"Yeah, sorry, that's not gonna work" Owen told her from across the room "Not anymore"

She stared at the two, then her hands and her eyes fell on something new

"The cuff. You gave me this" she hissed at Hook

"Well, you rather insisted" he affirmed as Tamara and Owen shared a look

"You knew I would want it" Regina stated

"True. They rigged it with something that blocks your magic" Hook said with a smile and a chuckle "It's impressive"

Hook moved away as Regina moved toward the two barring her way out.

"So, little bitty Owen does grown-up magic of his own, now?" she jeered angrily as she removed her gloves

"It's not magic. Actually, this is something much better. Science"

He moved toward her as she tried to rip the cuff from her wrist.  
She silently wondered if it was super glued on...and wishing that her sister was here. She would know what to do.

"You can stop doing that. It's not gonna work. You might be able to get rid of the leather, but inside are the toughest metals and machinery known to man, and right now, they're counteracting every magic bone in your body"

She couldn't stop staring at her hands. She was just too horrified...she hated repetition.

She finally looked to him as Tamara removed something from her coat pocket.

"Which one was she?" Tamara questioned her lover as she looked down at the list of names in her hand.

"She was the Queen. The Evil Queen" his eyes held amusement as he looked from Regina, to the list and back again.

"Yes, I was the Queen." Regina said, her pride swelling.

She listened to Owen, but had a momentary staring match with Tamara.

"But now? Here? You're nothing"

Even as Hook watched on in silence, he couldn't help but think that that was a little too harsh.

The fear was evident in Regina's eyes, but she wouldn't let it show on her face "And what are you?" she questioned Owen, grasping at strings to try and regain control of the situation.

He shrugged at her "I'm just a man. A man on a mission"

"And all this just to try to find your father? I already told you, I don't know where he is"

"Yes you do. But that's not my mission"

"Then what is?"

Hook had to admit even he was intrigued. Being a pirate he couldn't trust himself completely, let alone these two.

Owen smiled crookedly "I'm not telling you" he said with a shake of his head

Regina finally conceded to the thought that she had never had any control in the first place.

"Bag her"

Regina looked over to Tamara just as her vision became dark.

Something was jabbed into her arm, probably by Owen, and she rapidly lost all feeling in her body, falling in a heap to the floor with a loud thud. When she tried to ask what was going on she found she couldn't move her jaw.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go find the other Mills"

_'Damn Hook!'_

Regina seethed underneath the hood, willing herself to move even a finger. They were not going to take her son!

"We already got her" Tamara said from above Regina

_'Her? Watcher!'_

"What do you mean you've already got her? I thought we had a plan to deal with her?"

_'Obviously they don't trust you as far as they can throw you!'_

"We dealt with her before coming here" Tamara replied "We figured if something went wrong here we could use her as leverage"

_'My sister is __**not**__ leverage!' _if Regina could've screamed, she would've.

"She's out cold back at the hideout" Owen confirmed.

"You left her there? Alone?"

"She'll be out for hours. She'll need to be for what we have planned"

"No more talking" Tamara put in urgently "Get her in the van"

Regina felt herself being picked up by two sets of hands and heard the doors of the Library being opened.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

David swung open the door to Regina's office.

He held his gun ready and had Emma in tow, but he quickly realised that he needn't have been so ready as he was, as the person they were looking for wasn't there.

"It's okay. She's not here" Emma called out into the hall.

Mary-Margaret and Henry, quickly but cautiously, entered the room.

David put his gun away.

"When you find her, you're not gonna hurt her, are you?" Henry questioned Emma

"No. We just want the beans she stole from us" Emma told him calmly, trying very hard to douse the quick rising flames of worry that were beginning to show in his eyes.

She moved to the security system, thinking that there something odd about it all.

"I don't get it" Mary-Margaret stated quietly "Why would Regina leave her office unlocked?"

_'Funny. That's just what I was thinking'_ Emma told herself

"Especially when she's keeping the Beans here" David said as he made his way over to the Bean capsule to stand beside his Grandson.

Mary-Margaret sighed loudly as she looked at the Sprout "Was keeping them here. They're gone!"

"Something's not right" Emma said from behind them "Regina would never leave evidence like this behind"

"Maybe she already used them to portal out of Storybrooke" David suggested, looking away from the case and toward his daughter.

"Without Henry? I don't think so" Emma stated confidently, thinking that she obviously got her brains from her mother, considering all the things Regina had done just to get Henry.

"What if something bad happened to her?" Henry piped

Mary-Margaret placed a hand on the boys shoulder and shared a look with her husband.

"Security system says the last time someone was in the office was around six this morning" Emma pressed a button on the control pad.  
**'Security Override Enabled'** flashed up on the screen.

"They used an override code to get in" she told the room, her suspicion making her skin itch

The others turned to look at her and David made his way to the centre of the room "Why would Regina need an override code on her own alarm?"

"She wouldn't" Emma could see the pieces falling into place now.

"You think someone else broke in and took the Beans?" her mother questioned her, also moving to the floor.

"Well, we haven't found Regina anywhere and haven't heard from her" Emma told the other woman logically.

"So something bad did happen to her" Henry started

"We're gonna find her, Henry. I promise" even though he had a right to be worried, Emma didn't need him freaking out on her, especially if it was all just a misunderstanding.  
What also concerned her was that she hadn't seen Watcher around either. But the girl was such an introvert, not to mention ninja like, that it wouldn't be all that surprising if she turned up in the Diner or something later on.

* * *

**P.O.V. Change**

Tamara entered a room in the old Cannery that they had made their hideout.

She stared through the window to where Hook stood over Regina, who was strapped to a metal table, set up by the Earth world pair.

"Did you get into her office?"Owen questioned as he entered the room.

"Have I ever let you down?" she threw back somewhat sarcastically.

She turned to him.

"Look what I found"

He stared into the bean pod that she held in her hands and saw a few large, white coloured Bean shaped things.

"Are these what I think they are?"

"Magic Beans" she told him holding one out to show him "Neal told me all about them. They open Portals"

"I bet he told you a lot, huh?" Owen said out of the blue

"Don't be jealous" she looked up to him gently and held up her hand, pointing to the ring that adorned it "As soon as we're done, this is coming off"

"Yeah, well, you can have this one instead" He stated holding out a small golden pouch to her for her to take.

Tamara took it from him and sent a fed-up look at his turned back as she opened it. She was genuinely surprised by what rested within it's folds.

"What the hell is that?"

"I don't know. Regina had it on her" Owen told her as he fiddled with his favourite toy, something that they had pulled out of an abandoned asylum a few years ago.

Meanwhile, Tamara pulled out the object in the pouch.  
It was a large Diamond. That shone black in the white lighting of the room.

"I'll send it back with the rest of the data"

She dropped the Bean Pod in with it.

"I think the Home Office is gonna have a field day with everything we've collected so far" she said with a smile

Owen mimicked her "I still have one more thing that I have to do"

"Make it quick. We'll be getting our instructions soon"

"Oh, this isn't gonna take long" he told her as he exited the room, pushing his toy.

Tamara sighed "I suppose I'll check on our other guest"

She made her way down a hall to an area laden with pipes and machinery.

There, struggling against her chains, was Watcher awake and kicking.

"I'm surprised. I thought you'd be out for at least another day" Tamara stated, waltzing over to stand in front of the girl.

"It's gonna take more than a tranquilizer to put me out" Watcher pulled at her restraints "Any chance you can let me go?"

Tamara snorted with mirth "You think I'm stupid?"

"Yes"

"Oh, you're funny little girl"

"I'll be even funnier when I slice your face off"

The pair glowered at each other.

"So why am I here?" Watcher eventually asked.

"Because of something inside of you" Tamara answered with a mysterious and evil edge

"Something inside of me?" Watcher chuckled "What could possibly be inside of me they you don't have...you're not in the Black Market for organs are you?" her tone was serious at this point.

"No" the other woman said with a smug smile and moved across to a set of instruments that had previously gone unnoticed.

"Did you really think I would fall for that trick?" Tamara asked her

"What trick?"

"Sadie Miller"

She trailed her fingers along a set of freshly sharpened knives and scalpels wondering which one she should use.

"What makes you think it's a trick?" Watcher questioned

"Because Neil doesn't know any Sadie Miller and he doesn't remember one from the Enchanted Forest-"

"It's a big place"

"-and as I said before, Miller is in association with Mills and there would be only one reason you would choose that particular name"

"And what's that?" Watcher questioned mockingly.

Tamara payed no attention to the fact that her voice echoed in the small area

"Because you're really a Mills"

She turned around and realised that all the talk and dramatics had only been a distraction as the prisoner had somehow escaped her bonds and was now nowhere to be seen.

Watcher silently dropped from the ceiling behind her and whistled to gain her attention throwing Tamara a hard punch to the face when she turned to her, sending the woman to the floor in a daze. She moved around the other again and gave her an even harder kick, just to be sure.

"A piece of advice, never take your eye off the ball. Especially if that ball is an escapee's fist"

She gave a rough sort of bow and turned around, sprinting away in search of an exit.


	32. Chapter 32

The door bell jingled as David and Mary-Margaret entered Gold's shop.

"Sorry to interrupt the party" David said sarcastically

"Well, I certainly don't remember inviting you two" Gold shot back "We're closed"

Lacey almost choked on her inhale of drink from where she sat on Gold's work desk as Mary-Margaret answered with 'Not to us'

"We need your help. Regina's missing and we think she might be in danger"

"Just the way I like her and if you happen to find my apprentice, tell her she no longer is. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"I don't think so" said David "Whatever your feelings are about Regina, you still owe me a favour"

Gold sent him a smile that read **_'I'm imagining your dead body on my floor right now'_** and chose to ignore the confused look Lacey sent him.

"Lacey, if you could excuse us, I have some business to attend to" he asked of her as he offered out a hand to her, which she took almost disbelievingly.

"Make it quick" she stated as she took it and slid off the desk, taking her drink with her and sending the others a look as she sidled out to the front area of the shop.

Gold turned away to a cupboard behind him "I'm sure I can whip up something to find Regina"

"What did you mean by 'And if you happen to find my apprentice'?" Mary-Margaret asked "Haven't you seen her today?"

"No I haven't" said Gold turning back to them "And because of her lack of obvious interest, and because she was obviously wasting my time, she now no longer will be and if I see her anytime soon I'll make sure she knows it!"

"She wasted her own time if anything trying to get you to teach her! Watcher wouldn't just leave that to hang! No, there's something wrong" Mary-Margaret turned to David "We thought only Regina was missing what if it's not just her"

"You think Watcher might be missing too?" David questioned

"Well, Emma did say something about her this morning and Ruby asked me if she'd seen her because they were suppose to meet up at the diner but she didn't"

"So both Mills sisters are gone. You're right, that can't just be a coincidence"

"Well, I can only help with one of the sisters" Gold put in, becoming thoroughly annoyed with time wasters "So which shall it be?"

The Charmings looked to one another.

"Watcher..." Mary-Margret started quietly

"Can take care of herself. She's been trained remember" David reassured her.

"That doesn't stop me worrying about her. You didn't see her after that fight with Regina and Cora!"

"I saw she had a scythe at your throat" David reminded her

"That may be, but you didn't see what I did!"

David gripped her by her shoulders "We're here because of Regina. Watcher can take care of herself. She'll be fine. There is no doubt in my mind that she'll come to us"

He looked towards Gold as conformation that this was the decision.

"Alright then, but tell me, why do the Charmings want to help the Evil Queen?"

"Because I owe her. After what I did to Cora" Mary-Margaret said quietly.

Gold gave a mocking exhale "Never underestimate the power of a guilty conscience" he said as he opened a small box and lifted out a small vial.

"What is that?" Mary-Margaret asked him.

"This is one of Regina's tears" he stated as he opened the vial.

"Why do you have one of Regina's tears?" she queried

_'And more importantly do you have one of Watcher's?' _

He lifted the vial, looked at it and then at her "Because I do" he said with a smile

He limped towards her "This spell, however, requires two tears"

Mary-Margaret looked at him skeptically "You want one from me?"

"Well, just think of a dark moment, dearie. Something bleak and hopeless. I know you have a few"

She stared at him incredulously, but thought for a moment.  
He was right. There was a whole life's worth of 'Bleak and Hopeless' to choose from;

Her mother's death

Loosing Emma

Watching Johanna die

Watching Johanna die...Watching...

Watcher.

She didn't know why, but, the girl was always a second thought for everyone else in the Town.  
But to her...  
Ever since that moment after battle against Regina...those eyes had haunted her dreams.

Those eyes that suggested that Watcher was one unconscious step away from falling into an insanity that she would never be pulled out of.  
Those eyes that said she'd seen too much and lost so much more.

The girl was always her first thought of a morning and her last thought at night.

Something about those eyes told that she needed to be protected, no matter how strong she may seem.  
They told her that she'd been strong for far too long and that she was losing control.

She remembered how close Watcher had crawled to her when they lay in bed days after Cora's death.

She remembered her eyes begging for forgiveness, but she didn't understand why.

She remembered watching her cry in her sleep and how she had to hold her close to stop her from reacting to her nightmares.

She wanted to know what was going on inside Watchers mind. Why she was the way she was.

But the thought of those eyes...those pleading eyes...brought her to tears.

Gold moved forward to catch one of the tears that fell, Regina's tears glowing white when her own tear entered the small bottle.

"Perfect" whispered Gold and he sloshed the contents around to make sure it was fully mixed

He moved back and put the lid of the vial on.

"Now, when you drop this into your eye, you will be connected with Regina, wherever she is. Whatever she sees, you'll see. Whatever she feels, you'll feel"

Mary-Margaret nodded silently.

"How long does the spell last?" David asked.

"Long enough to lead you to her" Gold replied handing over the vial.

"And with that, I've fulfilled my end of the bargain. Goodbye"

He gave them a sarcastic wave just to prove his point.

"Always a pleasure" David shot back sardonically and chasing after his wife who all but shot out of there and onto the street like a bullet.

He finally grabbed her by her elbow.

"Hey, hey. Are you alright?"

She turned to him, more salty tears spilling from her eyes.

"Does it look like I am!" she snapped

"I know it was pretty intense in there, but there's no need to bite my head off" he said gently. He sighed.

"What did you think about that's got you this upset?" he ventured

Her voice croaked as more tears slid down her cheeks "Watcher"

He looked at her confused and a little disapprovingly

She went on quickly "I know you said she can take care of herself, but I don't think she can! You haven't seen what I've seen when it comes to her! You haven't been with her enough! Something really terrible has happened to her and now she's a broken little girl crying out for help! She needs help!"

David sighed again and pulled her into a hug and started to guide her back to the Loft

"We'll figure out Watcher when it comes to it, right now we need to find Regina"

* * *

Watcher kicked at a fire exit, but it was so rusted over it wouldn't budge.

"Damn it all to heck! Someone's watching over me, laughing!"

* * *

David reluctantly cradled Mary-Margaret's head, poising to place the tear drops in her eye.

Mary-Margaret blinked a few times and sat up straight again, after a few moments shaking her head to say that nothing had happened.

Almost immediately after that she gasped and twisted in pain, her eyes wide and tearing up all over again.

The jolts of...something, made her twinge and her skin prickle like her whole body was on fire...quite literally.

Flashes of Regina flew before her eyes and she could've sworn she saw Watcher just for a second.

There was a smell that hung in her nostrils that she couldn't quite pin point.

She grunted in pain again as the jolts returned making her spine curve back and her body convulse.

There were more flashes of Regina.

She didn't even register that David was calling to her before she blacked out


	33. Chapter 33

**A short chapter this time. **

**The story's almost at its end. ****I'm trying to make it last...and I enjoy keeping people in suspence ;P**

**Enjoy.**

**R**

* * *

Tamara walked back into the room Owen had set himself up in "Everything's taken care of"

"They bought it?"

"As far as Emma and Neal are concerned, I'm just running on the beach"

"Any sign of the girl?" Owen asked her

"The first thing she would've done would be to go to them. No, she's still here somewhere and I doubt she'd leave without her sister. Speaking of which, how are things going with **T****he Queen**?"

"You know, she's not exactly cooperative. But, that's all about to change. Right, Regina?"

He slammed his palm onto a red button and the sound of electricity crackling and humming filled the air.  
Regina grunted and convulsed in pain.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with" she said weakly when the shocks subsided.

"Actually, no, **you** have no idea who you are dealing with" Owen shot back smartly

It was sad that he didn't pick up on the fact that she wasn't talking about herself.

* * *

"So she didn't see anything?" Emma asked her father over the phone as she and Neal walked down one of the wharfs at the docks.

He watched as Emma looked over to something in the distance and he knew that suddenly everything made sense.

Over the seagulls, he heard her say "Get down to the docks right now"

"I was right" she finally told him "Tamara was not down here for a run. She was in there, with Regina"

With those words both took off at a run.

* * *

She heard talking a short distance away from her and went to investigate.

There were gasping sighs and a "What the hell, guys?" that sounded distinctively Emma.

After being trapped in here for hours on end Watcher had lost all common sense and was just glad to find someone other than Tamara or Owen, so she stupidly ran around to greet them.  
And though she shouldn't have been surprised that they were armed, she was, and slipped in a puddle of something onto her butt when two guns were aimed in her direction.

"Watcher!"

Mary-Margaret hurried forward to her and was surprised when the girl threw herself into the smaller woman's arms, nearly sending her to the ground.

Watcher was breathing heavy and trembling.

Mary-Margaret moved to stare into the girls face, which was as white as a sheet. Her pupils were also dilated, but not in a crazed sense. She'd never seen someone so scared before.

"They wanted to cut me open! They wanted to experiment on me! I know I joked about it, but I didn't think it would ever seriously happen!" she said quietly as the others behind them conversed

"They who?" asked Mary-Margaret

"Tamara and Owen!"

"Tamara and Owen" Mary-Margaret parroted "Who's Owen?"

"Greg Mendell. He was here as a little boy with his father and was chased out of town and a whole lot of things happened with Regina and his dad-"

"Watcher, calm down. You're babbling" Mary-Margaret said gently

"I've never babbled before. Am I doing well so far?" Watcher asked innocently, though her words were strung together and Mary-Margret could only barely make them out.

"You and Mary-Margaret take the basement" she heard Emma say "We'll search the main floor, Regina's got to be here somewhere"

Emma paused momentarily "And take Watcher with you"

David nodded and guided Mary-Margaret and Watcher away.


	34. Chapter 34

"That's scary ain't it!"

_'He sounds like a madman!'_

David stepped into the doorway and fired his gun.

Mary-Margaret and Watcher hovered behind the wall keeping safe.

"Don't move!" David screamed as he stepped further into the room. There was a pause and then crashing and banging suggesting that there was a fight or something happening.

Before Watcher could protest, Mary-Margaret bounded into the room "David!" she called "We can't leave her. She'll die if we don't get her help"

Watcher hung around outside.

The hours that she'd been inside this infernal building had been her worst. They'd given her time to think. And thinking can be the worst torture for a breaking mind. Especially with the year she'd had so far. She was positive that this was going to be her final few months.

Greggson was here, so that meant that **They **weren't too far behind and her mission was falling to tatters...certain death was inevitable.

She'd met him...he was a nice guy...maybe it wouldn't be so bad at the end...

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see Owen sneaking up on her.  
But she did feel the scalpel as he drove it into her spine...and twisted.

She screamed as the vertebrate was severed and she tumbled to the floor landing on her back and making her cry out again.

He was above her, admiring the short, silver coloured NanoCable he'd just ripped from her nervous system. The silver strands that allows her mind to send messages to her Nanos.

"Now that is interesting" he commented

David appeared with his gun at the ready, but Greg managed to dodge away down the hall.

David dropped to Watchers side.

"What happened?"

"I can't move" she stated pitifully.

David looked at her seriously, the words of Mary-Margaret outside Gold's shop echoing through his mind.  
Maybe May-Margaret was right. Maybe the girl did need help...and not just at the moment.

He dug in his pockets for his phone and dialled Leroy.

"Leroy. David. I need you come to the old Cannery at the docks. Bring your truck and maybe another dwarf or two"

* * *

Watcher was carried up to the Loft by David. It un-nerved him how she was slipping in and out of consciousness.  
She'd lost blood, yes, but there was something more involved.

Mother Superior, or the Blue Fairy, was already working on Regina when he entered.

He place Watcher on the table, face down while Mary-Margaret re-applied pressure to the wound like she had been in the truck.

The only sounds in the room were the tinkling of magic from Blue's wand and the shuffling of the Dwarfs as the help to care for Watcher.

David and Mary-Margaret, after they were sure Watcher would be fine with Leroy and the others, moved across the room nearer to Blue.

"Now that the cuff is off, she's gonna be okay, given time and rest. Her magic will return"

The door opened softly behind them and was closed absentmindedly by a preoccupied Emma.

Blue moved around the family quietly to make her way over to the other Mills sister, but listened carefully anyway.

"What happened?" David asked his daughter gently "What is it?"

"Where's Neal?" Mary-Margaret asked, clearly confused

Emma looked between her parents, completely stricken "He's gone. She killed him"

The room remained quiet, but was eventually broken by the same twinkling sound that eminated from Blue's wand as she worked on Watcher.

She checked the wound and could see silver strands of something laced along the inside, as if something had been torn out of the girl's body.

"Can you tell me anything about these strands?" she asked Leroy quietly.

He shook his head "We figured if they're inside of her, which they seem to be, then they're meant to be and we weren't gonna touch them"

"A safe bet" replied Blue as she watched the wound knit itself together again. She pet the girls head gently "You've been through a lot these few months, haven't you?"

* * *

Elsewhere, Owen was reburying his father.

Tamara approached from behind and he turned to see her.

"I'm sorry about your father"

"Me too" Owen said with a pout

She handed him the Diamond knowing full well that the information she was about to give him would raise his spirits.

"Do the folks back at the Home Office know anything about it?"

She gave him a small nod "Yeah. They did. And you are never gonna believe what it does.

* * *

"A trigger?" said David accusingly

"That will destroy Storybrooke" said Regina, having finally woken up only minutes before

"No" Mary-Margaret whispered, starting to feel sick. She'd just saved this woman's life! She'd felt she'd owed her something!

"I had a fail-safe built into the curse"

"And why exactly **were** you carrying it around?"

"She was gonna destroy us Mary-Margaret" David said quietly

"I was going to use the beans to take Henry back to the Enchanted Forest" Regina said, her voice croaking with tiredness.

"And in the process kill all of us"

"You want to discuss justification? You were going to abandon me" Regina accused "Or shall we discuss a more pressing issue? Which is that I no longer control the trigger!"

* * *

"What are we supposed to do with it?"

"They want us to move to the next phase"

Owen stared at her wide eyed and full of anticipation "Already?"

"Yeah" Tamara answered just as eager and a little scared

"There's only one way to get what we all want" she continued, plucking the over sized Diamond from her lovers fingers.

"We have to blow Storybrooke off the map" she finished with malice.

* * *

Watcher lay in her bed upstairs in the Loft feeling sore and sorry for herself.

She'd seen it.  
Seen it hanging limply from the blade.  
The silver NanoCable.

She couldn't feel it anymore, the familiar tingle that told her that her body was in working order.

She lay there blank faced, staring into The Void, feeling nothing.

Mary-Margaret and The Blue Fairy watched over her with worrying eyes.

"Are you sure there's nothing more you can do?" Mary-Margaret asked the Fairy.

Blue shook her head "I've done all I can do, whatever's wrong with her it's not physical"

"Was there anything strange about her injury?"

The Fairy thought on what she saw earlier and what Leroy had told her;

**_"We figured if they're inside of her, which they seem to be, then they're meant to be..."_**

Blue shook her head again.

Maybe the Dwarf was right. If those strands came from inside her, then maybe they were meant to be and it was best if she, The Blue Fairy, didn't touch them. It was best if nobody touched them. Anything could happen.  
Then again, if they were something that was put inside her by Tamara and Owen...

It was quite the conundrum and the girl wasn't speaking. She hadn't spoken for a few hours now.

Maybe Mary-Margaret could work some of her magic.

"Mary-Margaret, I'm going to have to leave you. I have other things that I need to take care of at the church." The Fairy said as she made to leave.

"Of course Mother Superior"

Blue stopped in the doorway.

"Get her to speak" she said quietly "If she's going to talk to anyone, it'll be you"

She removed herself from the doorway making her way down the stairs and out the front door, leaving Mary-Margaret to stare after her standing in the space she had occupied previously.

Mary-Margaret moved slowly to sit by Watcher and began to stroke the girls hair.

"Did Tamara and Mendell do something to you?" she asked

Still Watcher did not speak

"Can you tell us what their next move is?" she tried again

Still nothing.

It was quiet for ten minutes, before;

"I'm broken"

Mary-Margaret's hand stopped midway through Watchers damp messy curls, but only for a moment.  
"You're not broken. What would make you say something silly like that?"

"I am broken. I put you all in danger by coming here" Watcher said quietly not moving from her position  
"I killed my friends! It was all my fault. It's why I'm here now!"

Mary-Margaret stared down at her seriously "What do you mean you_ 'killed your friends'_?"

"And now...now Owens gone and torn the Fibre in my spine" Watcher went on quietly, unintentionally ignoring the others question.

Mary-Margaret shook the girls shoulder "What's _'all your fault'_? What have you done?"

"Lies. Always lies. Why are we not allowed to say the truth? Why do we have to keep secrets? Because, that's why, just because. We have to protect everything because it'll all fall into chaos. It's what they told us"

She was just rambling, that much was obvious, but Mary-Margaret couldn't help but think there was more to it.

"Don't tell them" Watcher said suddenly, looking up to the other woman with pleading eyes "Don't tell them I can't protect them. Don't tell them I can't do it! Help me, please!"

"Watcher, you're not making any sense. You need to explain yourself to me, if you want me to help. What's going on?"

But she would get no answers as Watcher had fallen back into her stupor.


	35. Chapter 35

Mary-Margaret, Emma and David had left ten minutes ago leaving Regina and Watcher at the Loft.

Regina was sleeping again and Watcher was watching her...not in a creepy way though, it wasn't meant to be.

She sat on the stairs, staring through the gaps.

"Bye sis" she whispered.

She hiked the bag Mary-Margaret had given her onto her shoulder and trekked quietly across the wood floors, gently shutting the door behind her.

Outside, across the street, she saw Archie.  
He looked to be in a hurry as he was running.  
He waved to her quickly, smiling.  
She feigned a smile of her own and waved back but her mouth returned to its hard line as soon as Archie looked away.

She thought over her plan again;

Firstly, she would head to Rumplestiltskin's shop and leave the letter she'd written. Her apology for wasting his time and for everything that had happened since she'd turned up.  
Well, it wasn't really a letter, more like a line or two...and not as much a line as a single word...she couldn't really think of anything that she'd really wanted to say.

She allowed her feet to take her where she intendid to go, ignoring others around her and allowing herself to blend in as not to be seen by anyone else who would know her. Something she'd been taught and had improved over her years...on the job.

She breathed out, annoyed with herself.  
She couldn't put her past behind her. She couldn't help but think about it.  
It seemed to catch her at every turn. She'd never had a normal life.  
Never had a sister, never had a mother, never had a family.

Everything that seemed to become normal to her now was not only problematic but in danger of extinction because of her past.

Okay, over dramatic, but she'd been A Watcher all her life and it wasn't something she could just walk away from.  
Greggson was here, after all, to ensure that.

The bell tinged above her as she entered the shop.

She knew Rumplestiltskin would be out talking with David and his wife, so she knew not to be expecting him there.  
What she didn't expect was Lacey to be there, sucking down a bottle of Whiskey.

"Sorry. The shop's not open and Mr Gold isn't here" Lacey informed her, not realizing who she was.

_'Not really surprising considering she's always two fifths sober in day time hours. She leaves the heavy drinking for the dawn' _Watcher thought sarcastically, suppressing an eye roll

"I know he's not. Look, I just came to leave this and the spare key" Watcher told the other woman behind the counter, placing the envelope and the key in front of her.

"Why? What is it?"

"The key and an envelope, please just make sure he gets it"

Lacey gave her a **_'Whatever'_** look and dragged the items off the counter into a hand and proceeded through the curtain to the very back of the shop

_'I really don't like this version of Belle. Rude much'_

Watcher scowled and slammed the door as she exited, making her way to the graveyard.

She didn't go to the Mausoleum, instead preferring to stand by the grave of someone who was more like a mother and friend than her own.

"Hi. Sorry I've taken so long to get here. I could make up some excuse that I've been busy or I wouldn't know what to say, but we both know it wouldn't be true. I want to say thank you first off. You were good to me when no-one else wanted to be and you gave me somewhere to go and someone to talk to when I needed it. So, thank you. I wish Cora hadn't...I need someone to talk to. I need advice. Anyway, I'm leaving. I've caused too many problems for everyone and I've messed up the time lines. So I just came to say goodbye"

She saw a few little yellow Daisy things a few meters away and picked one, placing it on the grave.

"Bye Johanna"

She made her way out of the Graveyard, being sure to use her 'Ninja' abilities of blending in when she got onto crowded areas again.

* * *

Underneath Storybrooke, Tamara, Owen and Hook were wandering along the rails of the towns Diamond Mine.

"It's just ahead"

"Are you sure whoever's in charge of you guys doesn't want you to die in a mine collapse?" Hook asked them both

"Just keep moving" Tamara relied annoyed

"Who is telling you what to do?" He was surprised by his own questions, though he wondered briefly why it hadn't occurred to him before.

"You know what?" Owen threw out "That's none of your concern. It's not ours either"

"Not your concern?" Hook was starting to feel a little nervous...which was foreign to him.

"So you're telling me you don't know who commands you?" he stated almost accusingly.

Tamara sighed loudly and angrily.

"Unlike you, Hook, we believe in something. We have faith in the sacredness of our cause"

"We're here" Owen called.

He stood in front of a row of hanging axes and chose one at random from the wall, admiring the name before he took a firmer grip on it.

"So your sacred cause is pilfering a dwarf's pickaxe?"

As Owen got a feel for the weight of said axe, Tamara answered.

"Regina had this in her pocket when you turned her over to us"

"It's a trigger" Owen went on "And this axe, according to our people, is what activates it"

He handed the axe to Tamara as Hook verified what he had just heard.

"You're going to destroy an entire town and kill everyone in it?"

Owen heaved a moderately sized, flat rock onto the middle of the tracks "Yeah, including your enemy"

"Rumplestiltskin won't be immune to this?" Hook ventured.

"None of your kind will be" Tamara stated as-a-matter-of-factly

She continued "Once this thing gets activated, nothing can shut it off"

"This whole town will revert to the forest it once was" her lover stated

It was at this moment Hook realised what was really going on and that to these two lunatics...he was disposable.

"So tell us, Hook, we're willing to die for our cause, are you willing to die for yours?"

Hook stared at the both of them, feeling a hatred that his nemesis could never rival.  
He was prepared to kill Rumplestiltskin then live a life of powerful luxury and never hear the name again.

_'Fake it 'till you make it'_

"Absolutely" he answered. He would come up with a plan in no time.

The other two gave each other a look and with a light laugh and a shake of her head Tamara placed the black Diamond on the flat surface of the rock.  
With all the strength he could muster, Owen swung the axe down and connected loudly with the hard shell of the Trigger.

Now, a Dwarf's axe is specially made to cut through Diamonds, meaning that it's harder than the hardest diamond anywhere in any world.  
But this Trigger Diamond reacted. It didn't break.

The three of them stared on with shocked caution as it glowed dark blue, sparkled with magic and floated into the air.  
As it reached about waist height, a strong pulse of magic was exerted forcefully from within the Diamond shaking the ground, making them stumble and bringing down clouds of dust around them.  
The tunnel was so bright with magic that they had to turn away and shield their eyes.

"Oh!" someone said it and it was the best word to describe the situation.

There was a whooshing sound as the Trigger settled itself into its role, the destroyer of Storybrooke and its people.

The only people in the in the depths of the mine hightailed it out of there as quick as their legs would carry them.

* * *

In the centre of town there was a rumbling of sound that shook the Clock Tower and if someone was to look up into its broken face, they would see a blue swirling cloud of magic quickly becoming framed by thick dark green vines.

* * *

The ground shook beneath Watchers feet as she stood at the pink line.

She looked back down the road towards the town, a desperate look on her face.

_'What should I do? I want to have a real family, but I can't stay'_

A Watcher is supposed to know how to get out of every situation the can put themselves into. Right now, she wouldn't know how to get out of her own pants.


	36. Chapter 36

Regina finished putting on her boots and stood with a sigh, rubbing at her aching neck as she moved from the bed to the stairs.  
Just as she did David and the others hurried in with Henry.

"Oh. Henry!"

"Mom!"

She pulled him into a hug just as there was a loud **'Boom'** and the ground shook, making the crockery and glasses rattle.  
A plate on the counter fell and shattered on the floor.

They all looked to each other with wide eyes.

"Regina" Emma directed "Was that-"

"Yes. The Diamond was activated" Regina confirmed.

Everyone looked at her shocked.

"So we're all gonna die?" Henry asked, his voice quivering slightly.

"You were born here, so you'll live" Regina told him

Henry looked around him to the others in the room "But..." he looked back to his mother "I'll be alone"

Emma breathed in quietly.

"I'm so sorry, Henry"

"It's not gonna happen. I'm not gonna let it. You did this, now make it stop" Emma pleaded desperately with Regina

"I can't. There's no way"

"Well, figure it out. It's your fault" Emma snapped

"Stop! I already lost my dad I don't wanna lose anyone else. We have to work together"

"From the mouths of babes, I'd say the lad has a point" Hook said as he made his appearance, though his appearance was made all the more dramatic when Charming's fist connected with his face.

"That's for the last time we met"

"Bloody hell" Hook complained.

David removed his gun from its holster and took the safety off before continuing as the women and child looked on in silence.

"And tell us why you're here before I use something else, other than my fist"

* * *

Rumplestiltskin re-entered his shop with an exasperated sigh.

He was not having a good day.

Firstly Mary-Margaret and David had burst into his shop demanding that he help them locate Regina.  
Then when he'd gone to "_spend time with his grandson"_ the Charming's had turned up, yet again, and had informed him that his son Neil...Baelfire, had died and was sucked through a portal all thanks to Tamara.  
Unbeknownst to him, he was to be the receiver of more bad news.

Lacey appeared holding a new bottle.

"Hey, you're back. So, did you do what you set out to do?"

"Unfortunately not. I was forcefully engaged in conversation with Mary-Margaret and her husband" he told her.

"You mean those two that come in this morning?"

He gave a heavy hearted nod, remembering the conversation they had had.  
He grabbed the bottle from Lacey's grip and two glasses from a cabinet.

"Did you feel that Earthquake before? Something huh?" Lacey said absentmindedly.

Gold guided her into the back room and sat down at the desk. Seeing the key and envelope, he queried about it.

"Some girl brought it in. Said to make sure you get it"

He picked up the key and examined it. It took him a bit to remember that he'd given it to Watcher. Then he picked up the envelope.  
Unfolding the paper within, he read the word "_Sorry"_.

_'A bit anti-climactic, I was expecting a longer explanation'_

"Did she say anything else, this girl?"

Lacey shook her head and downed the contents of her glass, refilling it quickly.

"Was this the girl that came here yesterday morning?"

She shrugged as she finished her new drink "She looked as if she was leaving town"

"Leaving town? What makes you say that?"

"She had a big bag and was wearing good boots"

There was the sound of feet and shuffling from the main shop.  
He motioned for Lacey to keep quiet and moved to the curtain.

"Mr Gold isn't going to like it when he finds out that we-"

He moved out into the main shop, gaining the attention of the room.

"A sure sign of impending doom, looters"

"It ain't looting if the stuff you find is already yours" Grumpy stated after putting down Sneezy's stein on the glass of the counter.  
"We need Sneezy's drinking stein. We can bring his memories back"

"Oh, can you?" Gold stated sarcastically with scepticism, looking toward Sneezy who seemed silently say **_'Help me. They're crazy!'_**

"Mother Superior finally figured it out. He needs to drink this out of his old stein, something important to him" Grumpy explained, holing up a vial full of blue liquid.

"So she found a solution to the memory problem, today. In the nick of time before we all die?"

Sneezy looked at everyone in the room, quiet sure that they were **all** crazy. But Rumplestiltskin's words had seeped through his mind with ease.

"Die, whose dying?" his nasally voice questioned, though no-one would answer him.

"She's been working on it all along. Then when she had to transform August back to Pinocchio she found the ingredient she needed. A hair from Pinocchio's head. Someone who returned to who he should be. Someone who wasn't cursed" Grumpy told him.

"So you're gonna wake your friend up to tell him he's about to die?"

"I don't want that-"

"Shut it, Clark"

Grumpy turned back to Gold

"He wants to know who he is and be with his family no matter how much time he has left"

Sneezy scoffed "Not if I'm gonna die"

Gold made a motion as if to say **_'See'_**

Grumpy turned back to his brothers "Let's take him back to Granny's and do it there"

The others gently took hold of Sneezy.

"Hey!" Sneezy scoffed again "Hey, guys. If I don't have a family, will I still die?"

Gold watched as they dragged Sneezy from his shop as the Dwarf continued to protest.

"I really don't think it's necessary-"

Grumpy hung back and approached Rumplestiltskin

"I asked her to make a second dose" he held out a second vial to the twisted Imp.

"This is for you"

"And what am I supposed to do with that?" Gold asked him

"Belle once helped remind me of who I was. I've never forgotten. I wanna return the favour. Don't let her die as Lacey"

Rumplestiltskin took it carefully from the others fingers, staring down at it.

As Grumpy turned to leave, Gold spoke again "Master Dwarf, I need you to do a favour for me"

"And why would I?"

"Think of it as part of an unwritten contract. My favour, for the stein"

Grumpy hesitated "So what's this favour?"

"I think Watcher may be leaving Storybrooke. I need you to ensure that she doesn't"

Grumpy stared at him "She has a chance to escape death and you want me to drag her back into its waiting jaws"

"I think she wants to leave because she knows we'll survive and I think her involvement will be crucial for what happens next"

"You think?"

Gold swallowed his pride "Please, just get her back"

Grumpy stared open mouthed at Rumplestiltskin, The Dark One, begging to him, a Dwarf.

Grumpy scoffed and shook his head with a smile "Of all the people...fine. I'll find her and bring her back"

"Think before you do. She, like Emma and Henry, can cross the town line and retain herself. You'll have to act quickly"

Grumpy nodded determinedly and he ran out of the shop, after his brothers, who were already halfway down the street to the Diner.

Rumplestiltskin stared down at the vial in his hand, contemplating his next move.

* * *

Underground, almost to the Town Line, Emma and Regina were walking the tracks in the Mine, looking for the source of their destruction.

"I can feel it. It's like the oxygen is being sucked out of the air" said Emma, using the light from her torch to make sure none of Tamara or Mendell's friends were hanging around.

"Not the oxygen" said Regina from behind her "The magic"

They wandered further until Regina saw the blue light of the Diamond on its magical pedestal.

"There it is"

Emma turned off her torch, the Diamond being bright enough to light the tunnel.

"Once it stops glowing, its destruction is achieved" Regina explained "And then, well, then, we'll see the real carnage"

The Trigger hummed as they moved closer to examine it.

"I'll try to contain its energy as long as I can" Regina stated

"It won't be long. They'll have the bean soon then we can get the hell out of here" Emma told her

Regina took a second and then gave Emma a sad look.

"Slowing the device, it's going to require all the strength I have"

They stared at each other seriously, almost as if they were reading the others thoughts.

"You're not going with us, are you?"

Regina looked as if she were about to cry.  
She was thinking about Henry now, and Watcher. She was disappointed with her sister.  
Disappointed, that she hadn't stuck around or even said goodbye.  
Disappointed that she was just like her mother and her big sister and running away when she should've been sticking around. Regina thought her sister would've been standing by her side right now, telling her it would all turn out fine.  
But Regina was more disappointed in herself. She didn't want her baby sister to die, she loved her. And if Watcher had the chance to escape the butchery, then she was happy for it.

Now Regina needed to stop running. Now she needed to do something right.


	37. Chapter 37

At the Diner, the Dwarfs were welcoming back Sneezy to their fold by having a celebratory last drink.  
In fact a few others of the Towns residence were also having a last meal or drink, including the Nuns and Archie.

Well, all except Grumpy who was having a fast paced conversation with Granny and The Mother Superior.

"And you're sure he said Watcher was leaving?" Granny questioned

Grumpy nodded, confirming his story for a fifth time.

"The question is, why would she be leaving?" he stated "Gold had a theory, but it didn't sound valid to me"

"She seemed strange when I saw her last" Stated Blue "Distracted and distressed"

"She said she was broken, I don't think she was in her right mind" Mary-Margaret spoke up from behind Granny "Something about a fibre being torn in her spine"

Blue and Grumpy looked at one another with guilty wide eyes.

"You know something, don't you" said Mary-Margaret with narrowed eyes.

"We'll explain later. Right now we need to find our little know-it-all" said Grumpy

"You mean Watcher? She's not here? I thought she'd be here if anywhere!"

Granny looped an arm around Mary-Margaret's shoulders "Don't worry. We'll find her"

"That's right" Grumpy confirmed "You just look after Henry. We'll look after this"

Blue nodded and moved back over to her congregation, explaining the situation and within a minute the bell dinged over the door as all the nuns filed out onto the street to locate the girl.

The bell jingled again as Emma entered.  
Henry and Mary-Margaret ran to her to hug her tightly and then all three of them moved to a table so Mary-Margaret could explain everything.

Grumpy turned back to Granny "So what do we do now?"

"I'll tell Ruby to go and help the Nuns" Granny told him "She knows that girl as if she were her own sister. She'll be able to sniff her out. Meanwhile you and the other Dwarfs get out there too and find her. Mary-Margaret's already worried and no doubt Emma and Henry will be as well. But just imagine Regina's reaction when she finds out"

"She'll burn the place down before the curse does" said Grumpy

The bell jingled over the door for a third time and David and Hook entered. David holding up a leather pouch.

"We have the bean"

Emma closed the door behind them "You did it?"

"Yeah"

"You okay?" she asked her father in concern

"Oh, it's just a graze. It's fine"

"Okay, let's get going. Henry?" Emma called

"Where's my mom?" Henry questioned, referring to Regina.

"Regina can hold off the self-destruct device long enough for us to escape. But-" Emma paused, not entirely sure with her words.

"But, what?"

Emma looked to her mother as if sharing a thought.

"She won't survive" she finally answered Henry

Realisation dawned over all in the cafe. After a few more minutes of conversation there was a plan in place.

Now realising that both had wandered away from each other, Granny moved back towards Grumpy.

"Now! Go now! Out through the back" Granny whispered to him.

Grumpy nodded and indicated to the other Dwarfs to follow him and exited out through the back door while Granny went to talk to Ruby.

* * *

Watcher sat in the middle of the road staring at the Town Line.  
She didn't hear the sound of the Dwarfs approaching truck being too caught up in her mental debate of what to do.  
It stopped a little ways away and the Dwarfs got out with Grumpy shouting instructions to the others, three of who ran off.  
Happy got Grumpys attention and pointed her out to him.

"Watcher" Grumpy called, but she didn't react. She didn't even acknowledge their existence.

The remaining Dwarfs ran to her.

"Watcher?" one of them questioned

"Hey, know-it-all, you okay?" Grumpy asked her

She turned to him slightly.

"Know-it-all? I suppose I am. Comes with the job" She said quietly.

The Dwarfs shared a look and Grumpy moved forward to sit next to the girl. The other dwarfs eventually followed his lead so all of them lined up along the Town side of the line.

After a pregnant pause, Grumpy spoke up...as he always did.

"So, know-it-all, what's up? Blue and Mary-Margaret both say you're losing it, care to verify"

Watcher sighed lightly "I just...don't know what to do"

"Is the town gonna be okay?" one of the others blurted out

Watcher made a sound and waved the question off "The town's gonna be fine, everyone's gonna live"

There was a collective sigh from the Dwarfs.

"But I'm not gonna be able to help or protect anyone anymore" she finished quietly.

"What're you talking about? Are you talking about the fibre in your spine?"

Watcher gave Grumpy a blank stare "Did Mary-Margaret tell you?"

"We helped you when you were injured. We saw the fibre in your wound. The Blue Fairy knows too, she healed you"

"But she couldn't fix the NanoCable" Watcher said glumly

Grumpy slowly looked to her "That doesn't sound good"

"It's not. It means I can't use my Nanos"

"But you're a Mills. You have magic"

"That I don't know how to use"

There was another silence before another Dwarf spoke.

"I hate to say it, but you are a Mills"

"You're the best Mills we know" said one

"Magic is in your blood" spoke another

"And from what I've heard, you're not A Watcher anymore" Grumpy stated

"I know" Watcher muttered "I just don't feel whole anymore"

The Dwarfs all shared a look.

"We know what that's like"

"A Dwarfs Axe is like an extension of himself"

"He spends his whole life in the Mines with that Axe"

"He polishes it-"

"-And takes care of it and even though he doesn't sleep with it"

"And he doesn't feel like himself until he's holding it again" Grumpy said, finishing the alternating points of view.

"We get it know-it-all" Grumpy stated with a smile

Watcher looked to him and mimicked his smile as a small **_'Thanks'_**

Something black shot out of the foliage nearby to the road and into the air, disappearing into the sky.

"What was that?" Sneezy asked loudly emerging from the other side of the road. Ruby, Blue and a few other nuns appearing with him.

There were resounding echo's of **Dunno'** and **'Beats me'**

"Watcher!" Ruby called as she ran to the girl, throwing her arms around her "Don't you ever do that again"

Grumpy moved over to Blue and proceeded to have a quiet conversation with her and a few moments later The Blue Fairy was over at Watchers side with a hand on her shoulder.

"Grumpy has just informed me of your situation" she stated quietly "Is there anything that I can do?"

Watcher shook her head "The Fibres need to be reconnected. You'd have to get the Fibre from Mendell and cut me open again to sew it together"

Grumpy stared at her disbelievingly "Boy, you Watchers sure take a beating, after you beat yourselves down first"

"It's all part of the **'****training'**" Watcher hissed sourly.

"Well, I think you need to be re-trained" Grumpy stated.

_'I think you might be right' _Watcher told herself.

It was then she remembered something.

"Get me to the docks, quick!"


	38. Chapter 38

Underneath their feet, Regina was still fighting against the Diamond.

The sound of magical electricity crackling echoed off the tunnel walls.

She looked up to see Henry, Emma, Mary-Margaret and David running toward her.

"What are you doing here?"

"You were willing to die to save us. That makes you a hero. And now we're gonna be heroes" Henry told her

"We're gonna open a portal, throw this thing into a void" David explained

"No" said Regina forcefully "You don't know that it'll work"

"We have to try" Mary-Margaret stated with determined eyes

Emma took the leather pouch from her father.

"Everybody, step aside" he said as Emma dug around with her fingers, trying to find the Bean...which turned out not to be there.

"Emma?"

She turned to look at Regina and her family with sad wide eyes "It's empty"

After a moment her eyes turned angry as everything suddenly made sense "Hook"

* * *

Elsewhere, just off Storybrookes Docks, Hook stared down to the Bean he held in his good hand and then out to the open ocean as he steered the Jolly Roger with his hook.

He had the Bean and was away scot-free...so why did all this now feel so...wrong.

* * *

"Now that we know everything's going to be fine, why are you panicking to get to the Docks?" Happy questioned Watcher.

All the Dwarfs were piled into the truck and speeding down the main street, avoiding as much of the killer foliage as they could.

"There's more reason behind what these two idiotic morons are doing. The problem is they don't know their employer or that reason. But I do and I intend on stopping it all before anything more happens" she told him "They're hurting my family and that includes you guys"

The dwarfs were chuffed by this statement and Bashful became bright red in the face.

"Hold on!" screamed Grumpy.

The truck hit a pothole and went skidding out of control coming to a stop just before it hit a tree. Thankfully it hadn't flipped and no-one was hurt.

Watcher jumped from the truck.

"I'll go alone from here. Be safe"

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Grumpy called

"I'll be fine. We all will"

She ran off down the street in the direction of the ocean doing her best to avoid the oncoming throng of people and growing trees.

* * *

Within the tunnels of the Mine, Henry moved to his mothers side.

Regina was crying heavily and beginning to sob as she began to speak to her son.

"I love you, Henry. I only wish I was strong enough to stop all this" She broke as Henry embraced her lovingly "I'm just not"

She only wished she'd had a similar opportunity and conversation with her sister.

The crackling sound increased in volume around them. The Diamond had almost completed its task.

Emma moved away from her parents to stand in front of Regina, an idea having struck her in the heat of the moment.

"You may not be strong enough, but maybe we are"

The Charming pair and Henry moved away from the other two to gain some sort of protection in a corner.

Regina looked at Emma with determined eyes and silently asked whether this was something she really wanted to try.

Emma placed her hands around the Diamonds energy and immediately the Diamond latched on to hers, the sound in the tunnel becoming louder.  
Regina smiled as she felt the increase of magic against it.

_'This may actually work'_

She smiled and shared a look with Emma.  
But then she felt it, the power was increasing too quickly...it was going to overload.

There was a boom of sound and the energy of the Diamond fizzed out through a pulsing explosion, causing the Diamond and everyone in the tunnel to be either thrown or drop to the floor, knocking them all into unconsciousness.

* * *

On the main street, the Dwarfs watched as the trees and foliage receded into nothingness, where it had originated.

"She was right"

* * *

Watcher watched as the trees around the Docks began to vanish back into the ground and she nodded to herself in approval.

But then turned quickly back to the task at hand.  
She didn't know where she was supposed to be going, so she was power walking along the Docks until she saw something.

It wouldn't be long now, she could feel it. They would make their appearance soon.

And she didn't know how right she was, because she started to run.

* * *

**(Minutes before)**

Those in the tunnel picked themselves up off the dusty floor breathing heavily.

"We're alive" David stated happily as he chuckled

"Emma! Oh god!"

David and Mary-Margaret helped their daughter to her feet as Regina picked up the now inactive, unusable, Diamond Trigger.

"We did it!" Stated Emma

Regina exhaled as she answered "Yes, we did"

"Got to hand it to Henry, he's right about a lot of things" said David with admiration.

"Yes he is" said Emma "Isn't that right kid"

She looked around for her son, as did the others, but they all came to the conclusion that he wasn't in the tunnel anymore.

"Henry?" she called.

She called again but there was still no answer.

She switched on her flash light and run down the tunnels calling and found his shoulder bag not all that far away.  
She ran forward to investigate.

"Emma, what is it?" Mary-Margaret asked

Noticing that the strap had been torn, she showed it to the others, foul work obviously at play.

"They took him"

* * *

She heard it not all that far away and she knew she was in the right place.

"Relax, kid. We're not gonna hurt you"

_'Tamara'_ she seethed

"Just everyone I love? You tried to blow up Storybrooke"

"True. But that was never the point"

"It wasn't?" Henry questioned

"See, we came here to destroy magic, Henry. But then we found something more important. Something that changed everything" She heard Owen tell the kid "You"

She bolted after them "Henry!"

"Watcher!"

The other two looked to her and then each grabbed one of Henry's arms, hoisting him off the ground enough to carry him at a run.

Tamara being the only one with a free hand reached for her gun and fired it uncaringly behind her trying to slow the girl down.  
Watcher did have to duck behind some conveniently placed barrels and thankfully wasn't hit.

The shots stopped and Watcher ran from her hiding spot, they were a distance away from her now, but she was determined to end this now before it got any worse.

"You don't know what you're doing!" she called

"Believe me when I say we do, **Sadie**!" Owen called over his shoulder

"Emma, you don't even know where you're going!" Watcher heard Mary-Margaret say

"Doesn't matter, I have to find him. I'll track them down in Hell if I have to"

Watcher was within touching distance when Owen threw the bean and jumped into the portal with Tamara and Henry.

"The last bean" she heard her sister say "They've opened a portal"

Watcher was about ready to jump in after them when the others called for Henry but was grabbed around the middle by two sets of arms.  
Much like Emma, who was panicking.

"We have to follow them there has to be a way!

"Not only do we not know where they went, but Hook stole the last Bean" Regina said, channelling her anger and panic into her logic and trying to restrain her sister.

"I don't care!" screamed Emma

"I was supposed to stop it. Why couldn't I stop it? What's slowing me down?" Watcher questioned herself.

Regina released Watcher.

"Without it, there's no way to follow" Watcher heard her sister say

"There has to be. We can't let them just take Henry!"

"Watcher" Mary-Margaret whispered "You travel between worlds right? You can get us to Henry"

"Even if I could, I'd need to know where they went" she replied just as quietly, but Regina had heard.

"What do you mean 'Even if you could'? You can take us to Henry, can't you?" she looked at her sister expectantly and turned David and Gold's attention to them.

_'When did Gold and Belle turn up? It doesn't matter! Even though I **know** where they went, there's too many same dimensions to navigate!' _Watcher thought

"Oh, don't tell me. It's A Watcher thing. Only Watchers can help other Watchers move through worlds. Or is it because you're not a Watcher anymore that you can't?" Regina accused.

Watcher remained quiet, her anger bubbling beneath the surface. She had caused so much to go wrong these past few months and she was so pissed with herself right now that she had reached her max.

"What, nothing to say? Or are you choosing now not to interfere?"

"You don't even know what you're talking about so just shut up**!" **she finally snapped, surprising everyone around her.

"No, Regina's right" Emma stated "You've been interfering with everything since you got here! Why don't you interfere when it's actually required, like now! You can take us to Henry, so do it!"

"I can't! And not because I don't want to! So just get off my back!"

Watcher ran, she didn't care where she was going she just ran.

She couldn't handle all this right now.

She was broken enough as it was.


	39. Chapter 39

**This little blurb it just to let you know that the final words of this chapter will complete Book One of The Watcher Chronicles - Alpha**

**To all my lovely readers, I do hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Watcher's story will continue in Book Two after a small hiatus.**

**Please feel free to read my other stories, just be aware they are still in production and so may not be updated weekly.**

**Happy Readings**

**R**

* * *

Mary-Margaret watched the girl run off sadly and then turned an angry stare toward her daughter and step-mother.

"Something serious happened to her when she was injured. She's in a fragile state right now and you two losing your heads will not help in any situation" she stated calmly, but her dangerous tone was not missed on anyone.

"She was here for Henry. She was so close she could've grabbed anyone of them and she was ready to jump in after them-"

"So was I!" shouted Emma

"I'm not done Emma!" She scolded loudly "She was interfering at the right time because it was the right thing to do and she knows it. She was doing the exact same as you"

Emma looked away, still angry and blaming the girl.

"Besides, Watcher may not be able to help us, but there is another Watcher in town who we may be able to force or trick into helping"

Everyone on the pier stared at Mary-Margaret.

"Welcome to the dark side Mary-Margaret" Gold said calmly

"Yeah, well I'm not sticking around" she shot back "I'm going to find Watcher. You find out what you can from the other"

Just as she was about to leave Belle saw something on the horizon "What is that?"

"Hook" Emma breathed.

* * *

Watcher leaned against the outer wall of Gold's shop facing the forest.

She was breathing heavily and extremely tempted to beat the bark off one of the trees.  
She moved to summon her Nanos...when nothing happened she was sorely reminded that she couldn't.  
With the NanoCable cut, the connection between her brain and the NanoPort, where the Nanos maintained and duplicated themselves, was non-existent.  
Her Nanos were in permanent sleep mode until she could fix the connection...or she died.

"So that's what you meant by being broken?" she heard Mary-Margaret say from next to her.

Watcher leaned back against her wall.

"You can't help find Henry because you literally can't. How exactly are you able to travel between the worlds?"

Mary-Margaret moved to Watchers side and leaned against the wall with her.

Watcher rubbed away her headache for a moment before answering.

"The Harb. But it's useless if it's not connected to the Nanos"

"How is it connected to the Nanos?"

"Mentally...and wirelessly"

"So, they're like small computers?" Mary-Margaret questioned

Watcher shrugged "Yes and no. Watchers just tend to call them WeaponNanos because we use them for weapons, but they're really called ProbabiliterNanos.** They** named as such because there is the probability that we can use them in every situation. **They** gave them that name"

Mary-Margaret looked at her quizzically "**They**? Who do you mean?"

"I can't. I'm sorry. I can't let you get caught up in this as well"

Mary-Margaret nodded.

"Is there any reason you followed me or did you just want me to feel worse?" Watcher asked her.

"No" Mary-Margaret said quickly, pulling the other girl into a hug "Emma and your sister shouldn't have gone off at you like they did. You were trying to save Henry and they're just scared that they've lost him forever, we all are. You were just the easiest target to vent their frustrations"

Mary-Margaret gently placed her gloved palms on the girls cheeks and stared her in the eye.

"You've done nothing wrong. You're not A Watcher anymore. I can tell you're finding it hard to adjust, but it is still hard for anyone to navigate any situation. No matter if you have magic, no magic, Watcher abilities or no abilities at all"

Mary-Margaret pulled her into another hug.

"C'mon. Hook's on his way back" she told Watcher

"I know"

Mary-Margaret snorted with laughter and threw an arm around Watchers shoulders.

"No doubt. Grumpy's right, you are a know-it-all" she laughed out as they began to walk.

She stopped for a second to remove the belt that held her sword at her hip, having collected it along with other weapons before she'd gone looking for Watcher.

"I think you'll need it more than me, it's one of David's old ones" she stated, handing it Watcher.

There was a whoosh of sound behind them and they turned in its direction looking for the source.

"Is someone there?" Mary-Margaret called.

The foliage rustled heavily, but where it came from exactly neither of them could tell. They moved further in to investigate, but not too far in, in case they needed to make a fast get away.

Watcher secured her new weapon at her side.

May-Margaret pushed Watcher behind her. The girl didn't need any more stress today.

After a few seconds of nerve-racking silence a bird flew out into her face, making them both scream in fright.  
It flew off. Mary-Margaret and Watcher turned to each other wide eyed, it took a moment before they smiled to each other and started to laugh a little out of embarrassment, both silently agreeing to never speak of the situation to anyone.

What was odd though, was the bird returned, landing on Mary-Margaret's shoulder and starting to sing shrilly.  
Watcher knew Mary-Margaret could talk to birds, but she'd never actually seen her do it before.  
It was actually quite interesting to see.

"Slow down, you're not making any sense" Mary-Margaret told it.

Watcher wasn't sure if it did _'slow down'_ and _'make sense'_. It didn't make any sense to her anyway.

"What do you mean?" Mary-Margaret asked it her look becoming fearful and serious as she stared at her friend.

There was another whoosh of air and Watcher felt her feet leave the ground. She barely heard Mary-Margaret calling her name, she was moving too quickly and the air was too loud in her ears.

"Watcher!"

"Mary-Margaret!"

She saw Mary-Margaret chasing or running to the others for help...either one.

Either one wouldn't matter. There was nothing but ocean beneath her now, whatever it was, it was moving quickly.  
She looked up to the thing carrying her and saw only a black humanoid shape with glowing eyes.  
It was holding her by her arm and shirt, so it obviously didn't want her to die.

She stared at the dark blue water beneath her.

_'This day just keeps getting better and better!'_ she thought.

**_FIN._**


End file.
